Chad Eby: Broken Shadows

Eby is a master of tone, and much of what he does on this album seeks to explore the tonal center of the music he has elected to perform. On Thad Jones' "Tip-Toe" for instance he wields his soprano saxophone like a probing tonal stick as he pokes at the song until he gets to the heart of its skipping melody. From here he dances outward in colorful whorls around its simple central theme. On "Orange Was The Color of Her Dress, Then Blue Silk," Eby turns a large ensemble tune into a spare escapade for his tenor. In then appears to dip in and out of a magnificent tonal palette to bring Mingus' complex chart to life in all its harmonic and rhythmic complexity, even as it turns a page on the tune itself. His solo in the deep end of the song is spare and thoughtful, yet resplendent in the effusive character of the Mingus original. Eby's folksy interpretation of Tom Waits's wonderful "I'm Still Here" sets the timbre of his saxophone against Doug Wamble's acoustic guitar in a gruff, sensuous, and memorable almost-vocal rendition of the Waits classic.

The four-part suite "Epitaph" brings to life four unique characters in music by exploring the tonal personality of each. On Part I, Eby plays counterpoint to Branford Marsalis' robust tenor with his own ponderous horn, dancing around the tune's shifting pulse. On Part II Eby's soprano conjures a masterful hologram of Lacy, while on Part III of "Epitaph" the alto howls in true "J-Mac" fashion rousing the bebop of this famous ghost. This suite concludes with a soulful yet sexy homage to Ray Charles. In its visual nature it is as if these four legends were captured in a majestic tonal frieze.

Chad Eby paints his own charts from the gorgeous palette of sound that he brings to this date. "Mira" and "Little You (For Spenser)" are simple but heartfelt ballads that only a special love can bring to life. This sheer naked sensitivity surfaces on Ellington's "Sunset And The Mockingbird" and then again on a magnificent soprano solo reading of the Duke's "The Single Petal Of A Rose."

Jason Marsalis is the relatively hidden rhythmic wonder from the famous Marsalis dynasty, and Eby gives him exquisite exposure here. The melodic dexterity of bassist Steve Haines also shines through, as he and Jason Marsalis join Eby on this wondrous journey.

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