What they're saying . . .

Jack Bowers, All About Jazz (full reviewHERE):

A word of advice to big-band enthusiasts (and everyone else)—if there is one small-group recording to install on your radar screen this year, this is the one. If there were any justice (there isn’t), The Lost Bill Holman Charts would earn every award to be had (including a Grammy) without breaking a sweat.

Bill Holman:

"This music has been in a time capsule. Twenty years later, I'm very happy with the results, both in the music and the great performance of the players . . ."

Ken Poston, Los Angeles Jazz Institute:

"After years of mesmerizing audiences around the world with his unparalleled mastery of the trumpet, Carl Saunders is now becoming universally recognized as one of the true giants of the art of jazz, as both a lead player and as a jazz soloist.  He's a brilliant improviser with an unending flow of ideas, who possesses a remarkable technique that enables him to create long flowing lines full of unexpected twists and turns."

John Gilbert, ejazznews (full reviewHERE):

This album has it all, rock solid arrangements, the top soloists in the business, tunes that are gems and with Carl Saunders at the helm it gets right to the heart of hip.

Santo Savino on drums is time personified, Axt on bass matches Savino's mastery in the rhythm section. All in all this project has been a long time coming but now that it's here, it ain't going nowhere except into the ear and soul of the discerning listener.

There is an old expression in jazz (comparing talent) and it goes "Five dollars don't hang around with two" and the virtuosity and artistry of Carl Saunders is certainly apropos to that ancient bon mot. Saunders is the 'sine qua non' of trumpeters on the jazz scene. He stands alone.

This album is the essential statement of Bill Holman and Carl Saunders. And that's bankable.

5 Stars