CD: Oak Tree

Throughout his career, Tom Harrell has left his mark on a wide range of styles, including driving bebop, rhythmic Afro-Cuban jazz, studied classical compositional techniques, and soothing smooth jazz.
He favors concise, intense solos in which the predominance of his improvisational skills lies in what he leaves unsaid and what he allows to ring out from the bell of his horn. One can write volumes and use all sorts of superlatives to describe Harrell's playing, but simply put, he is one of those rare figures who has expanded the communicative possibilities of jazz trumpet while establishing himself as one of the art form's most significant composers.