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Eric Alexander: Chicago To New York
by Jack Bowers
Eric Alexander, widely praised for years as one of the jazz world's foremost tenor saxophonists, greets listeners with an unforeseen yet tantalizing curve ball on his latest album, Chicago to New York, employing his luminous soprano sax to enhance the first two numbers, John Coltrane's “Afro Blue" and “Wise One," before unleashing his trustworthy and perceptive tenor to usher him securely through the last five. While the soprano adds spice to Alexander's musical menu, the tenor remains ...
Continue ReadingEric Alexander: Chicago To New York
by Pierre Giroux
Tenor saxophonist Eric Alexander's release, Chicago To New York, is a masterclass in modern hard bop that pays homage to the vibrant musical exchange between two of jazz's most storied cities. This is not just a geographical nod but a conversation across time and space, framed by a quartet whose cohesion and shared sensibilities transcend geographical lines. Alexander, one of the most consistent voices of his generation, joins forces with pianist Mike LeDonne, both standard-bearers of ...
Continue ReadingEric 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 ReadingRich Willey: Puttin' On the Ritz
by Nicholas F. Mondello
When Irving Berlin wrote “Puttin' On the Ritz" in 1927 on a unique “transposing piano" tuned to his preferred key of F#, little could he ever know that one day, among the myriad numbers of covers of the tune, that it would title an album that features, among other attractions, Electronic Voice Instrument “wah-wah" solos. Putting that on hold, Rich Willey's effort apes the concept of that tune as an elegant effort. “Puttin' On the Ritz" offers ...
Continue ReadingPaul Marinaro: Not Quite Yet
by Pierre Giroux
Singer Paul Marinaro issued his acclaimed debut album Without A Song (122 Myrtle Records) in 2013. Seven years after the release of his follow-up, “One Night In Chicago" (122 Myrtle Records), and with almost a decade of performing from coast to coast at top-end clubs, including New York's Birdland, he has released Not Quite Yet, which is devoted to exploring timeless themes, such as life, love and the search for lasting connections. Accompanying Marinaro are longtime band members guitarist Mike ...
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