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Eric Jacobson: Heading Home
by Jack Bowers
There is a sensible piece of advice known to every baseball batter that has been taken to heart by Milwaukee-based trumpeter Eric Jacobson's concerning his hard-hitting quintet: come out swinging. Which is precisely what happens on Heading Home, Jacobson's second (or perhaps third) recording as leader of his own ensemble, whose opening number, “Survival," proves beyond a doubt that everyone in the lineup--all eyes focused on the ball--definitely means business. “Survival" sets the tone for the album ...
Continue ReadingEric Jacobson: Heading Home
by Nicholas F. Mondello
Wisconsin trumpeter, composer-arranger, educator and author Eric Jacobson and his team deliver Heading Home, his third album as leader. Offering eight Jacobson originals played by Chicago heavyweights and a New Yorker guest, all Jacobson regulars, the album, a hard bop retrospective, is arguably--if not definitively--the trumpeter's finest outing to date. “Survival" opens in a speedball frenzy with trumpet and tenor, the classic hard bop front line configuration, stating the melody before saxophonist Geof Bradfield blisters off, soloing ...
Continue ReadingEric Jacobson: Heading Home
by Paul Rauch
Trumpeter Eric Jacobson has settled in on the Chicago club scene, making musical alliances along the way that include the very top tier of that talent rich scene. For his latest venture into the studio, he employs the talents of master tenorist Geof Bradfield, Chicago first call bassist Dennis Carroll and the always swinging George Fludas on drums. At first glance, this session looks like a cannot miss proposition. After one listen, that supposition becomes objective fact, as the Milwaukee ...
Continue ReadingAffinity Trio: Hindsight
by Nicholas F. Mondello
Experimentation in the instrumental makeup of jazz ensembles has been with us for decades. Groups such as Gerry Mulligan's piano-less ensemble and drummer-less groups such as those of Django Reinhardt, Roy Hargrove, and Marvin Stamm's fine “Inventions Trio" come to mind. The format of this terrific album is such that the drummer gets a much-needed respite. As such, each player--trumpeter, pianist, and bassist--is rendered both free and constrained as relates time. While not addition by subtraction, the spotlight is on ...
Continue ReadingAffinity Trio: Hindsight
by Scott Yanow
Hindsight is the recording debut of Affinity Trio, an exciting straight-ahead jazz trio comprised of trumpeter Eric Jacobson, pianist Pamela York, and bassist Clay Schaub. “There is an intimacy that our group achieves by playing without drums," says the pianist. “Although we also love playing with drummers, we enjoy the space that we have in the trio. Eric and Clay both have a strong rhythmic sense so, even though we're a drum-less group, everyone takes care of the rhythm."
Continue ReadingEric Jacobson: Discover
by Nicholas F. Mondello
With Discover, Milwaukee-based trumpeter and jazz educator Eric Jacobson and team take us on an aural time trip back to the days when album covers were iconically black and white or monochrome and the contents within were drenched in blue-hued Hard Bop. This is a fine effort with that precise presentation. “New Combinations," which launches the date, is anything but new and sets the trajectory. One of four Jacobson originals, it is a straight-head burner directly out ...
Continue ReadingEric Jacobson: Discover
by Jack Bowers
If trumpeter Eric Jacobson's name doesn't ring a bell, it could be because he is based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, not in New York City, Chicago, Los Angeles or any other jazz mecca. What's more, Jacobson has not recorded often; Discover is only his second date as leader or co-leader. Hindrances aside, Jacobson's is a name with which one should become familiar, as he is an excellent trumpeter and composer, and Discover is splendid from start to finish. ...
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