I Let a Song Go Out of My Heart is an album by the American musician James Clay, released in 1991.
Production.
The album continued a comeback for Clay, who had reemerged on the national jazz scene when Don Cherry asked him in 1988 to play and record with Cherry's group; Clay was inspired by the sound he got at Van Gelder Studio, and elected to use it for "I Let a Song Go Out of My Heart". The album was produced by John Snyder. Clay was backed by Billy Higgins on drums, Cedar Walton on piano, and David Williams on bass. Clay's playing was influenced primarily by Sonny Rollins. "I Mean You" is an interpretation of the Coleman Hawkins version of the song. "John Paul Jones" was composed by John Coltrane.
Critical reception.
"The New York Times" said that "Clay plays bass tenor saxophone, mixing blues ideas and insistent single-note phrases with liquid lines that weave their way through be-bop's matrix of harmony and rhythm." "The Wall Street Journal" stated that "Clay has that smoky Texas tenor sound that's so timelessly appealing, and he's also a former colleague of Ornette Coleman, which makes for interesting style in its full glory". The "Hartford Courant" opined that Clay's "celebratory sound is pure jazz hedonism."
The "Albuquerque Journal" noted that the album combines Clay's "experiences with R&B and with straight-ahead and avant-garde jazz styles". "The News and Observer" said that "there are intimations of harmonic freedom in Mr. Clay's long lines and earthy, full-throated sound." The "Omaha World-Herald" stated that Clay "is true to the wide-open, bluesy Texas tenor tradition".