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 The story of saxophonist
Paul Pacanowski is basically a
simple one: a musician good enough to hold his own with anyone,
including the biggest names in the field... but with no record deal,
no awards, no stories in
Down Beat or
Jazziz,
none of the trappings we usually associate with "greatness". So it is left
to Paul to
release his own recordings, hustle his own gigs, play where
opportunity presents itself -- and bowl over anyone with ears that work.
If there is true and complete justice, his time will come.
It's generally acknowledged that,
in the world of post-bop jazz, there are two major schools of tenor saxophone
that continue to exert a lasting influence to this day,
epitomized by
Sonny Rollins and
John Coltrane. Paul Pacanowski represents more than a synthesis:
his playing is a synergy of these major streams of jazz, combining
the
dark power and thematic coherence of Rollins with the freedom and
keening, sinewy fluidity of Trane, forming a strong new voice for the instrument. He
is, in a sense, the future of mainstream tenor.
But as if that weren't enough, he's
fluent in many other instruments, and other fields of music... and he's
just plain great to listen to! 
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