"It requires a tremendous amount of discipline to perfect the arts of pacing, precision, and flow in artistic expression. With Momentum, composer-instrumentalist Myron Walden puts on a clinic. Right from the start, his stellar quintet fires on all cylinders." READ LINER NOTES »
"Momentum, is a potent modern mainstream set that takes trumpet icon Miles Davis' legendary 1960s quintet as a touchstone, but achieves reverence without sacrificing its own voice."
"Walden's writing has always demonstrated a distinctive blending of front line horns that almost sounds like a single voice..when writing for saxophone and trumpet, as Walden does here, there remains a skillful commingling, with the horns often orbiting around each other harmonically before coming together in strong unison."
"Walden deserts his usual axe in favor of tenor saxophone, proving himself as thoughtful yet fiery a player on the bigger horn as he is on alto, and using the instrument's lower register to accomplish many of the ideas he'd normally play on bass clarinet."
"Momentum [says] that Walden is back, and with a vengeance...and document[s] one of the modern mainstream's most provocative saxophonists, composers, and bandleaders."
- John Kelman, All About Jazz READ MORE »
"...uncannily evocative of the 1960s Miles Davis Quintet" with "a first rate band."
- Nate Chinen, The New York Times READ MORE »
"The music on Momentum is inspired by 1960s Miles Davis. Walden and trumpeter Darren Barrett play keening melodic arcs. introduction of soulful hard-bop elements Momentum is an album that invites the listener back, precisely because of this counterbalance of the settled and the agitated, the risky and the sureness of traditional references. Walden's stirring improvisations mirror the compositional parity. To loquacious lines that reflect the current trend of saxophonists bubbling over with harmonic, rhythmic, and melodic ideas, Walden brings a wise, patient, and homespun approach."
- Jacob Teichroew, JazzAbout READ MORE »
"Walden...give[s] Miles' music another look - a deep, dramatic stare. Strategically stacked, Momentum uses a solid base of modern jazz motion to carry the record forth into a fantastic furry, featuring a fluid, hard-bop finale."
- Brian Gall, Cracking the Jazz Nut READ MORE »
For the last 10 years Walden's brought a unique brand of ardor to the bandstand, and it's become a signature of sorts. The music on this live date by Momentum, one of his newest ensembles, is marked by a sizzling sincerity -- the kind of emotion that puts listeners on the edge of their seats. Known initially as an alto player, during the last few years he's also added the tenor sax to his arsenal -- it's revitalized his attack. The thoughtfully crafted lines of an experienced bandleader now contain the fiery attitude of a newcomer.
READ LINER NOTES»
READ IN DEPTH PROFILES OF MYRON
from Jazz Times and All About Jazz. Learn about Myron and his new and upcoming releases Momentum, In This World and Countryfied.
"Each illustrates a different facet of Walden's persona: In This World captures his spiritual side, Momentum the intellectual, and Countryfied the rootsy--a triangulated vision that conjures Charles Mingus' famous pronouncement, 'I am three.'"
- Jazz Times READ MORE »
"Myron Walden is a saxophonist beyond category.The same can be said of the music he plays. Three current [and coming] releases (1) conjure Miles Davis, (2) reflect his innermost feelings of love, and (3) jump with countryfied vigor. Look up the word 'eclectic' in the dictionary, and you'll find a photo of Myron Walden."
- All About Jazz READ MORE »
