Soft Lights

by Houston Person

Overview

Honestly, it's tempting to imagine (shades of the urban legend about German avant-garde freaks Amon Dueuel) that when Houston Person signed to High Note Records in the mid-'90s, he recorded one marathon session and all of his albums since then have simply been culled from those master tapes. Certainly they've had the same sound, along with most of the same personnel. Practically the only way to tell the difference between the albums is by the song selection choices. This one splits the difference between jazz standards and pop hits, with Duke Ellington's immortal "Do Nothing Till You Hear From Me" (given a wonderful, sprightly reading that owes a subtle debt to Rahsaan Roland Kirk's sublime take on the underrated A Meeting of the Times) leading one pack and Bread's treacly "If" (surprisingly good, with some lovely, restrained guitar work by Russell Malone the only backing for Person's meditative solo) the other. As always with Person, the standards win. This isn't a bad place to start for those wondering which album from this era to get. ~ Stewart Mason

Product Details

Release Date:	09/28/1999
Label:	HIGHNOTE
UPC:	0632375704926

Tracks

1. Here's That Rainy Day
2. I Only Have Eyes for You
3. It Might as Well Be Spring
4. Do Nothin' Till You Hear from Me
5. At Last
6. The Night We Called It a Day
7. It Shouldn't Happen to a Dream
8. I'll Be Around
9. Hey There
10. If

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Houston Person   Primary Artist,Sax (Tenor)
Grady Tate   Guest Artist,Drums
Ray Drummond   Guest Artist,Bass
Russell Malone   Guest Artist,Guitar
Richard Wyands   Piano

Technical Credits

Bob Russell   Composer
Duke Ellington   Composer
David Gates   Composer
Don George   Composer
Rudy Van Gelder   Engineer
James Van Heusen   Composer
Matt Dennis   Composer
Johnny Hodges   Composer
Alec Wilder   Composer
Richard Adler   Composer
Al Dubin   Composer
Mack Gordon   Composer
Oscar Hammerstein II   Composer
Tom Adair   Composer
Harry Warren   Composer
Johnny Burke   Composer
R. Andrew Lepley   Photography
J. Flint   Photography
Hal Wilson   Design,Digital Imaging
Jerry Ross   Composer
Richard Rodgers   Composer
Houston Person   Producer