Stardust

It's sort of ironic that bassist Ron Carter chose to do a tribute album to the late bassist Oscar Pettiford. Pettiford was a giant in the 1950s, but with an estimated 3,000 albums under his belt, there's no bassist more recorded, or held in higher regard, than Ron Carter. On Stardust, Carter and an all-star cast of saxophonist Benny Golson, drummer Lenny White, pianist Sir Roland Hanna, and vibraphonist Joe Locke do a mix of covers (including three Pettiford songs) and Carter originals. The music is classic straight-ahead bebop, with Carter's walking lines and beautiful intonation setting the standard. While this band had never all played together before this session, they follow Carter's tasteful lead, never losing the sense of his direction. Perhaps the most poignant moment on the album is the closing title track--here Carter and Hanna take the Hoagy Carmichael gem and gently buff it to a dark luster. Soaring and sentimental, Stardust proves there's still life in the classic jazz idiom. --Tad Hendrickson