Means of Identification

Means of Identification is an album by trumpeter Valery Ponomarev which was recorded in 1985 and released on the Reservoir label in 1987.^[1]

Means of Identification
Studio album by Valery Ponomarev
Released	1987
Recorded	April 14, 1985
Studio	Van Gelder Studio, Englewood Cliffs, NJ
Genre	Jazz
Length	50:09
Label	Reservoir RSR 101
Producer	Mark Feldman
Valery Ponomarev chronology
Means of Identification (1987) Trip to Moscow (1991)

Reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[2]
The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings	[3]

In his review on AllMusic, Scott Yanow states "The Reservoir label debuted with this excellent effort from trumpeter Valery Ponomarev, who was making his first recording as a leader. Five years earlier he had ended a nearly four-year stay with Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers, and although he never seems to receive the fame he deserved, Ponomarev since then has been one of the top Clifford Brown-inspired hard bop trumpeters around ... the music should please hard bop collectors".^[2]

Track listing

All compositions by Valery Ponomarev except where noted.

1. "Dialogue" – 5:56
2. "Means of Identification" – 4:52
3. "Mirage" – 3:56
4. "I Remember Clifford" (Benny Golson) – 7:41
5. "Fifteenth Round" – 4:56
6. "Envoy" – 5:46
7. "Take Care" – 6:31
8. "Take Care" [alternate take] – 6:15 Additional track on CD reissue
9. "Russian Christmas Song" (Traditional) – 4:16 Additional track on CD reissue

Personnel

• Valery Ponomarev – trumpet
• Ralph Moore – tenor saxophone
• Hideki Takao – piano
• Dennis Irwin – bass
• Kenny Washington – drums