Gary Smulyan - Alternative Contrafacts

Baritone saxophonist Gary Smulyan brings here his trademark contrafacts (a music making method that shares the chord progressions with other compositions) approach to this first SteepleChase leader outing challenging us (maybe?) to guess the tunes he is employing.

Smulyan whose professional career took shape by joining Woody Herman's Young Thundering Herds at age 22 (in 1978) has won Critics' and Readers' Poll awards numerous times by Downbeat and JazzTimes, among others. The Penguin Guide to Jazz once described Smulyan as the leading American exponent of postbop baritone.

Personnel: Gary Smulyan (baritone saxophone), David Wong (bass), Rodney Green (drums)