Alex Weitz: Rule of Thirds

Tenor saxophonist Alex Weitz's third album, Rule of Thirds, is a quartet date with guests—on seven of its nine tracks. In addition to playing tenor, Weitz wrote all but one of those numbers, Cole Porter's seductive "Love for Sale." Like many saxophonists these days, Weitz has excellent technique, which means he plays a lot of notes, and does that quite well. To his credit, he doesn't lean exclusively on that aspect of his talent, slowing the pace on several numbers to lay bare his more emotional nature.

"Nocturne in C Sharp Minor" exemplifies that divergence, as do "Harlem Lullaby" and the closing "Sonata for Fred." Elsewhere, the pace varies from brisk to temperate as guest pianist Emmet Cohen ( "The Hive, "Convent Court," "Love for Sale"), trumpeter Marcus Printup ("Convent Court"), guitarist Yotam Silberstein ("Nocturne," "Odyssey") and drummer Ari Hoenig ("The Hive," "Love for Sale") amplify and enliven the numbers on which they sit in.

There are no guests on the well-grooved title song or jagged "Rude Awakening," wherein Weitz fronts a rhythm section consisting of pianist Tal Cohen, bassist Ben Tiberio and drummer Michael Piolet, who are squarely on point and up to the task, as is everyone else. In fact, it could be said that the musicianship at times outstrips the music, which seldom rises above capable. An exception is "Love for Sale," whose well-known theme kicks off at a leisurely pace before Weitz and his mates turn up the heat with a series of tempo changes that lead to torrid solos by Weitz and Tal Cohen.

Printup is splendid on his only number, as are Hoenig, Silberstein and Emmet Cohen on theirs. There is no question that the album would be rather less engaging without them. As it is, we have an above-average session whose music is generally pleasing albeit not special, earnestly performed by first-rate musicians. Hardly a classic but handsome enough to earn a moderate thumbs-up.

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