Abraham Burton - Eric McPherson Quartet: Cause And Effect

Born three months apart, Burton studied under Jackie McLean, and McPherson became the fiery one’s drummer. Burton went on to learn his craft under legendary jazz Wailer Arthur Taylor. Both Taylor (now deceased) and McLean knew the art of he heavy-bop, passing its secrets and discipline on. Our young heroes recorded two albums The Magician and Closest To The Sun in the mid-1990s. Raw musically and beholden to their mentors, the first two efforts with Burton on alto saxophone were derivative but hopeful. Pianist Marc Carey left the band, to burn his own brand of bop (check him out) and Burton/McPherson reformed. This time, with Burton picking up the tenor saxophone and finding his voice.

Cause And Effect burns with that 1960’s jazz mentality on the verge of the ‘new thing’ in music. Burton/McPherson plus Yosuke Inuoe (bass) and James Hurt (piano) cut open an emotional torrent that carries through to Burton’s ballad “Dad.” Like Coltrane (who started on alto), Burton’s tone mines the upper register and applies speed when he deems the need. If we had to chart his horn, he would be descended from Trane through Pharoah Sanders and Eddie Harris. This quartet playing original music makes as strong a statement as any working group today. Listeners hungry for more Coltrane can find it right here.

Track List:Nebulai; Dad; Cause And Effect; Forbidden Fruit; Punta Lullaby; The Last Laugh.