I Won't Dance (Eu Nao Quero Dancar)

Tenor saxophonist Harry Allen shows his hand from the first measure, this is his Stan Getz tribute. He sounds exactly like the Brazilianized musician who found fame with "Girl from Ipanema." Although Allen refutes the title, his sound dances as if it were a paddleball. The lyrical quality is there a hundredfold, backed by a stellar cast of musicians including acoustic guitarist Dori Caymmi, electric guitarist Joe Cohn, pianist Larry Goldings, bassist Dennis Irwin, and drummer Duduka DaFonseca. Eight of the twelve selections are instrumentals, ranging from a typical slow "Once I Loved" and samba informed "No More Blues" to such lighter fare as the title track. The bossa "Doralice" and Allen's hard samba original "Time Is Standing Still" benefit from better arrangements and more aggressive playing. "Corcovado" is a switcheroo in that Goldings' piano states the melody while Allen's tenor fills in the cracks. There are also four vocals sung in Portuguese. Two are by Caymmi, his resonant tenor echoing poems of pining on "O Pato" and "Meditation," while a nine month pregnant Maucha Adnet pushes her vocal chords on the classic "Desafinado" and "If You Never Come to Me." In the liner notes, Allen gives thanks to the jazz fans in Japan, mavens of the carbon copy. When Harry meets his own true voice on his instrument, perhaps then the listener will be the one dancing. Until then this is for specialized tastes from the cool school ~ Michael G. Nastos