Rick Margitza: Heart of Hearts (Palmetto)
Margitza is a gifted tenor and soprano saxophonist who has studiously forged his own identity out of the legacy left by Coltrane. Somehow, between the rise of such fine players as Joshua Redman and Mark Turner and the lack - presumably - of a major label contract, he has been overlooked of late. He deserves much better; this is as fine a record as he has produced since he was first hailed as a considerable voice a decade ago. Made late last year with pianist and longtime colleague Joey Calderazzo, bassist Scott Colley and drummer Ian Froman, it's very much "inside" but, thanks to his sense of form and the group's rapport, it works. Good solos abound, and Margitza's superb effort on his own Provence is alone worth the album.
Chet Baker: This Time The Dream's On Me (Pacific Jazz)
Reissues of the Pacific Jazz catalogue have made some West Coast gems available again and this, emphatically, is one of them. The first of a planned series of Baker releases, it catches him at the start of his career as leader in the early 1950s when, within a year, he had won the Downbeat and Metronome major polls. On the evidence of this album, it's understandable. Effectively, it's the Live At Ann Arbor session with an earlier, unreleased live recording from LA; on both, Baker is in buoyantly lyrical form, full of ideas and clearly stimulated by a cohesive group which included the excellent Russ Freeman (who could have been better served by the pianos). But - no mistake - this is prime Baker.