Saxophonist Bob Sheppard is a dynamo. His elastic yet disciplined rhythmic finesse evokes the likes of Sonny Rollins. And like another Sonny, the legendary Sonny Stitt, Sheppard sounds right at home whether on soprano, alto or tenor--which is his preferred instrument.
    Sheppard--with an L.A. "rep" for his stellar studio work with Madonna, Michael Franks, and Rick Dees' "Late Show" band--is probably best known to jazz fans for his productive associations with Freddie Hubbard, Billy Childs and the Akiyoshi/Tabackin big band.
    Here, however, Sheppard takes the limelight with an indelible debut destined to put him in the ranks of fellow tenor titans Michael Brecker, Bob Mintzer, Jerry Bergonzi, Joe Lovano and Bob Berg. Though the linkage might seem odd, Sheppard plays with an East Coast edge reflecting his childhood roots (Trenton, NJ and Levittown, PA) and, more significantly, his schooling at the Eastman School of Music (yes, he graduated!).
    Sheppard, though freely acknowledging a host of influences, has evolved a unique approach. In contrast to his Big Apple brethren, Sheppard uses punctuating spacings a bit more freely. His sound is similarly singular. Along with the Coltrane-derived New York aspect, there are suggestions of the aforementioned Rollins, Joe Henderson, and occasionally in the upper register, Stan Getz.
    In a program dominated by originals, Sheppard proves himself an impressive writer. And in fleshing out the challenging repertory, Sheppard gets hand-in-glove support from pianists Billy Childs (a colleague from Hubbard's band) and John Beasely, guitarist Larry Koonse, Bassist Tom Warrington, drummers Peter Erskine and Tom Brechtlein, trombonist Bruce Paulson (on the steely mid-tempo cooker Might as Well Be) and fellow tenorist Bob Lockart (on Eric Gunnison's mysterious yet jaunty Echoes).
    In all, an absolutely terrific album by one of the day's finest young talents, saxophonist extraordinaire Bob Sheppard!
--Chuck Berg

    West coast session reedman Bob Sheppard can be heard on the pop recording of Michael Franks and Madonna, but he has not forsaken the development of his creative chops, as is evident here on his first solo outing. Much thought went into the compositions on this release (six of which are Sheppard originals), for they obviously succeed at exploring a wide range of harmonic and rhythmic ideas-enough to maintain interest throughout and warrant back to back listenings in order to absorb what flew by the first time. When the tunes themselves are this quirky and pleasantly surprising, the solos are like icing on the cake.
     Thankfully, to the credit of these players, the improvisational side of this release does not consist of the overly "sweet" and predictable just-what-you'd-expect-to-hear far often solicited from chameleons of the studio scene. A key word here is "extend," not in the sense of the avant-garde (this material covers grooves from straight-ahead to funk), but more in relation to the placement and development of ideas. The trick was to take these ideas and make a cohesive, interesting experience out of them, which Sheppard and his cohorts have duly accomplished.

    Bob Sheppard has been a ubiquitous figure in the L.A. gigging with everyone from Freddie Hubbard to Andy Laverne. Tell Tale Signs puts the reedman in the driver's seat and illustrates his impressive skills as a composer, leader and improvisor. Shep (who plays mostly tenor sax but plays alto on one song and soprano on another-generally goes for the dusky, haunting sound on "Hidden Agenda," "Once Removed," You Betta' Off" and other originals that invites comparisions to Michael Brecker's more "mainstream" side. Shep's accompaniment included John Beasley or Billy Childs on acoustic piano and synthesizers, Larry Koonse on electric guitar, Tom Warrington on acoustic and electric bass and Peter Erskine on drums and percussion.
--By Alex Henderson