When saxophonist Ken Fowser looks over his shoulder, he hears and feels the rhythms of his Philadelphia birthplace: Jimmy Heath, John Coltrane, Benny Golson, Lee Morgan, McCoy Tyner, Philly Joe Jones. It's a collective spark that has pushed him forward over a dozen-plus years in New York and numerous recordings. Fowser, never one to back away from the scalding sessions at Smoke and Smalls, has been dressing up club stages across the country with his soulful sound.
Don't Look Down, Ken's third album on Posi-Tone Records, has his quintet of trumpeter Josh Bruneau, pianist Rick Germanson, bassist Paul Gill and drummer Joe Strasser taking on 11 Fowser originals, steadily swinging in the post-bop zone. That never gets tired, due to the crafted tunes and collective ear and eye, embodying what Lawrence Ferlinghetti described as "thinking long thoughts in short sentences."
Ken Fowser's Don't Look Down is an insightfully straight-ahead record. Rest assured he's looking up and ahead, with every intention of taking the listener along.
1) Maker's Marc
2) Coming Up Shorter
3) You're Better Than That
4) Fall Back
5) Don't Look Down
6) Divided State
7) I'll Take It From Here
8) Queens
9) Top To Bottom
10) Inversions
11) From Six To Midnight
