Present Tense (James Carter album)

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[2]
All About Jazz	[3]
The Guardian	[4]

In the AllMusic review, Thom Jurek commented: "Present Tense showcases Carter at his most disciplined and ambitious ... This may be Carter's finest album because of its insistence on the balance between restraint and adventure".[2] In JazzTimes, David R. Adler called the album "an unselfconscious mix of influences, more three-dimensional than his various tribute discs and the recent organ-trio blowouts".[5] On All About Jazz Greg Camphire observed: "This solid, straight-ahead outing sounds both "old-timey" (in the best sense), with deep roots in blues and swing; and exploratory, never sacrificing Carter's personal approach, while maintaining his place in the jazz tradition".[3] In The Guardian, critic John Fordham wrote: "The whole set is a jazz history, rescued from cheesiness by Carter's mastery of every technical detail".[4]

All compositions by James Carter, except where indicated.

1. "Rapid Shave" (Dave Burns) - 7:28
2. "Bro. Dolphy" - 7:13
3. "Pour Que Ma Vie Demeure" (Django Reinhardt) - 5:05
4. "Sussa Nita" - 6:00
5. "Song of Delilah" (Victor Young, Ray Evans, Jay Livingston) - 5:11
6. "Dodo's Bounce" (Dodo Marmarosa) - 6:00
7. "Shadowy Sands" (Jimmy Jones) - 8:28
8. "Hymn of the Orient" (Gigi Gryce) - 4:23
9. "Bossa J.C." - 4:41
10. "Tenderly" (Walter Gross, Jack Lawrence) - 8:12

• James Carter - flute, bass clarinet, soprano saxophone, tenor saxophone, baritone saxophone
• Dwight Adams - trumpet, flugelhorn
• D. D. Jackson - piano
• Rodney Jones - guitar (tracks 4, 6 & 9)
• James Genus - bass
• Victor Lewis - drums
• Eli Fountain - congas, percussion (tracks 4, 7 & 9)