Carter's multihorn mastery is always dazzling, whether he's playing jazz funk, Pavement covers or the traditional numbers he and his sextet perform here. The highlights are "Hymn of the Orient," a Clifford Brown fave illuminated with blasts of free-form baritone sax, and "Bro. Dolphy," creamy bass clarinet moving from tender ballad coos to post-bop caterwauls. It's presidential Carter: soulfulness...

James carter is a throwback to the days when saxophonists walked with a certain swagger, had their own signature sounds and didn't need microphones to be heard. What makes his debut, JC on the Set, so remarkable is not a matter of chops but of depth. Carter has a conspicuous gift for the entire post-Coltrane jazz vocabulary and a genuine affection for pre-Charlie Parker saxophone techniques,...

Josh Redman and James Carter are the dueling spirits of jazz's young generation. Both are poised, self-confident saxophonists who possess an encyclopedic knowledge not just of jazz but of rock, soul and funk, as well. But that's where the similarities stop. In his playing, Redman, the son of avant-garde jazz veteran Dewey Redman, is studious and restrained, gently tugging at the edges of tradition...