[Download MP3] - Harold Land: A Lazy Afternoon

On the album, Harold Land: A Lazy Afternoon, esteemed and seasoned hard bop and post-bop vet Harold Land’s tenor saxophone shimmers stirringly over the string orchestrations of Ray Ellis (arranger of Billie Holiday's Lady in Satin), resulting in a celebration of both melody and rhythm that entices listeners with it’s pure musicality, controlled vitality, and lush romanticism.

"Why didn't someone think of this before? . . . timeless pieces,

beautifully rendered . . . if you are a seeker of beauty, Harold

Land has the answer . . ."                                           - JazzTimes Magazine

"Land glides through Ray Ellis' orchestral charts, rhapsodizing

forlorn and alluding to noirish days gone by . . ."        - Billboard Magazine

Most known for his stint in the Clifford Brown – Max Roach Quintet and his collaborations with Bobby Hutcherson, Carl Perkins, Cedar Walton, and Curtis Fuller, Harold Land was known as an uncompromising musical contributor to the evolution of Jazz.  Ray Ellis crafted deft string arrangements that showcase Land's emotion-laden performances for the twelve standards included on this album (also available on CD). Among them are such classics as the title song Lazy Afternoon, You Don't Know What Love Is, Duke Ellington’s In a Sentimental Mood, Antonio Carlos Jobim’s Bossa Nova classic Wave, and Thelonious Monk’s ‘Round Midnight. Also featuring drummer Billy Higgins, pianist Bill Henderson, and bassist James Leary, the resulting album, Harold Land: A Lazy Afternoon, is a fitting example of the late Harold Land’s saxophone eminence and musical apparition.