David "Fathead" Newman

continued

In recent years Newman has remained closer to his jazz roots, recording some very good albums accompanied by first-class pianists, such as Cedar Walton and John Hicks. He will be playing in Ann Arbor on Friday and Saturday, March 21 and 22, with the house trio at the Bird of Paradise, and in such contexts he tends to stick to standards and modern jazz classics, with a few of his own tunes thrown into the mix. Expect an evening of comfortable swing, heartfelt ballads, and quite a bit of soul.   

[Originally published in March, 2003.]