All Around Town

September 5, 1999
Jeanfrançois Prins (+ guest Lee Konitz)
TCB Records - The Montreux Jazz Label
Producer: Jeanfrançois Prins
Number of discs: 1

Jeanfrançois Prins guitar, compositions, arrangements, Mike Richmond bass, Adam Nussbaum drums + guest Lee Konitz alto sax, soprano sax (on tracks 2, 5, & 10).

“Prins’ sound will get to you right away. It’s such a musical sound, and this young belgian jazzman knows how to tell you some stories with it… Interaction is how one might best describe what this trio does. And lest I forget – they swing ! … what Prins does here with I Fall in Love too Easily, clearly places him in the major leagues. This is music-making of the finest kind, such good taste is a joy to encounter … This is the kind of music that you will want to hear not once, but again and again …”
Dan Morgenstern – Downbeat

Concept albums are difficult projects, but guitarist Jeanfrançois Prins’ trio pulls off a fine tribute to the Big Apple on this surprisingly laid back recording. The Manhattan of Prins is a lovely place, full of romance and charm, hearkening, perhaps, to an earlier era. Even “Breakfast in the Bronx” evokes nothing more than wonder and beauty. Perhaps Prins has only seen part of the City, or perhaps he chooses to see only the good, or perhaps his experiences in New York were simply too marvelous for words. Whatever the reason, Prins has produced a whale of an album, one that gently uplifts and caresses. Place him in the Joe Pass school of tasteful, absorbing music, and you will not be too much off the mark. Lee Konitz sits in on alto or soprano for a few numbers, his romantic style a perfect fit.
Steve Loewy – All Music

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