Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » David Bixler: Call It A Good Deal

160

David Bixler: Call It A Good Deal

David Bixler: Call It A Good Deal
David Bixler, a Racine, Wisconsin native who completed his education at Indiana University, has maintained an active schedule. During his early years in New York, Bixler was chosen as the lead altoist with the Lionel Hampton Orchestra for performances in Europe and the United States. During the 1990s, Bixler was a musician and educator in Barcelona, Spain, where he was much in-demand as both a performer and teacher. Since his return to New York eleven years ago, Bixler has established himself as a freelance musician. During this period, he also toured with the Toshiko Akiyoshi and Duke Ellington Orchestras—and since 1999, he has been the lead alto saxophonist for the Chico O'Farrill Afro-Cuban Jazz Orchestra.

It was during this time that Bixler began playing (and recording) with trumpeter Scott Wendholt, guitarist John Hart and drummer Andy Watson. His first album, Lost in Queens, appeared in 2000 and the followup, Show Me the Justice, was released in 2003. Call It A Good Deal has been released by the Zoho label, which covers music from the downtown New York jazz scene.

These eight tunes are all original Bixler compositions that vary in tempo but all seem to have just a hint of the edgy Zoho sound. The highlights of the album are Scott Wendholt's clear trumpet solos and the work of guitarist John Hart. On "Scratch and Sniff The Jive," Hart uncharacteristically begins with a thrash rock statement and then, during his solo, he discovers his "inner Hendrix." The last three tracks provide the best moments on the album. On the aforementioned "Scratch and Sniff The Jive," Bixler uncorks his best solo of the session, and the ballad "He Cries Every Day" finds Bixler, Wendholt and Hart showing their best combined effort.

Track Listing

Aiding and Abetting; Unraveled; Game Face; Gemenlie; Scratch And Sniff The Jive; He Cries Every Day; Good Deal?.

Personnel

David Bixler
saxophone

David Bixler: alto saxophone; Scott Wendholt: trumpet; John Hart; guitar; Ugonna Ugekwo: bass; Andy Watson: drums.

Album information

Title: Call It A Good Deal | Year Released: 2006 | Record Label: Zoho Music

Tags

Comments


PREVIOUS / NEXT




Support All About Jazz

Get the Jazz Near You newsletter All About Jazz has been a pillar of jazz since 1995, championing it as an art form and, more importantly, supporting the musicians who make it. Our enduring commitment has made "AAJ" one of the most culturally important websites of its kind, read by hundreds of thousands of fans, musicians and industry figures every month.

Go Ad Free!

To maintain our platform while developing new means to foster jazz discovery and connectivity, we need your help. You can become a sustaining member for as little as $20 and in return, we'll immediately hide those pesky ads plus provide access to future articles for a full year. This winning combination vastly improves your AAJ experience and allow us to vigorously build on the pioneering work we first started in 1995. So enjoy an ad-free AAJ experience and help us remain a positive beacon for jazz by making a donation today.

More

Tramonto
John Taylor
Ki
Natsuki Tamura / Satoko Fujii
Duality Pt: 02
Dom Franks' Strayhorn
The Sound of Raspberry
Tatsuya Yoshida / Martín Escalante

Popular

Old Home/New Home
The Brian Martin Big Band
My Ideal
Sam Dillon
Ecliptic
Shifa شفاء - Rachel Musson, Pat Thomas, Mark Sanders
Lado B Brazilian Project 2
Catina DeLuna & Otmaro Ruíz

Get more of a good thing!

Our weekly newsletter highlights our top stories, our special offers, and upcoming jazz events near you.

Install All About Jazz

iOS Instructions:

To install this app, follow these steps:

All About Jazz would like to send you notifications

Notifications include timely alerts to content of interest, such as articles, reviews, new features, and more. These can be configured in Settings.