Reviews – Recordings

David Sills: Green By Dan McClenaghan With tenor saxophonist David Sills, three big “s” words come to mind: Swinging, soulful, and…surfing?” Check out the cover photo on his Green CD. You might think it a re-release of a forgotten Chantays—of “Pipeline” fame—album from 1963. The guy on the surfboard—David Sills himself—is cutting into a bottom…

THE SWEETEST MELODY by George Fendel The Sweetest Melody, David Sills, tenor sax, Michael Kanan, piano. Another believer in the concept that swing is essential, bal­lads are a thrill, and blues is part of the vocabulary, is Southern California tenor man Sills. This is his seventh CD (in my collec­tion), and I’ve long been an…

Bigs by David Sills By Craig W. Hurst   In the parlance of some, “The Bigs” refers to making the big leagues or the big time. With his newest release on the Naxos Jazz label, Bigs, David Sills demonstrates he is neither a small time composer nor a minor league jazz saxophonist. Of the ten…

David Sills: Bigs (2002) By JACK BOWERS, Published: September 1, 2002 Naxos’ press release calls tenor saxophonist David Sills “a unique composite of Stan Getz, Joe Henderson and Warne Marsh.” Not much pressure on that young man’s shoulders, is there? Well, if Sills is feeling any pressure on Bigs, his second album for Naxos, it’s never apparent;…

Brent Jensen / David Sills Quartet: Stay Cool By David Franklin Although many younger players look to the hard-bop of the ’50s and ’60s for inspiration, it’s much less common to find youthful players who reflect the values of the erstwhile “cool school.” But altoist Brent Jensen and tenorist David Sills, two saxophonists inspired by the…

The five Sills’ originals demonstrate his versatility and the empathy between him and Foster whether playing off one another or playing as one. This is particularly true of “Cuttin’ Back,” which builds on a strong bass figure, and the bopper, “It’s All You,” with its contrapuntal sax duet. The title cut frees the group to romp through those “Rhythm” changes. Beautiful interplay on the soulful “Slow Joe” (Sills and Broadbent) and the Latin-tinged “Eastern View” (Sills and Koonse).

David Sills: Green By Jeff Krow A Win-Win Proposition **** Purchasing the new CD by tenor saxist, David Sills, is a winning proposition as it provides both classy jazz by a talented saxophonist with top level sidemen, and a portion of the profits go to the Sierra Club. Such a deal – good music benefiting…

By Dave Nathan Working together in Southern California since 1996, the maiden album of the Acoustic Jazz Quartet features a varied playlist of originals, traditional, and pop, as well as one classic bop tune. Straight-ahead music mingled with bop and post-bop chords, this is an especially fine inaugural set headlining the guitars of Jamie Findlay…

Organic is the perfect follow-up to the band’s original release. This is an airtight ensemble making rarified music. Highly Recommended.