Eric Alexander & Mike LeDonne: Together

Eric Alexander and Mike LeDonne's album Together is an acknowledgment of the magic that can emerge when two masterful musicians collaborate in a duo setting. This release, featuring nine tracks, captures the essence of their longstanding musical relationship, offering a rich tapestry of spontaneous interplay, deep grooves and expressive storytelling through sound. And that sound was captured as the session was recorded at the iconic Van Gelder Studio at Englewood Cliffs, NJ, with LeDonne performing on Rudy Van Gelder's nine-foot Steinway concert grand.

The album opens with a LeDonne original," For Mabes," a tribute to the late pianist Harold Mabern, who mentored Eric Alexander and Mike LeDonne. This track exemplifies their shared use of brisk ascending chromatic improvisatory lines, each picking up where the other left off, creating a dynamic interplay. The following three tracks, including the Vernon Duke gem "Autumn In New York," are standards they both enjoy playing. In this solo effort on the soprano saxophone, Alexander elaborates on what the structure of the number has to say, always keeping the melody in mind. Thelonious Monk's jazz classic "Round Midnight" is the perfect frame for the two soloists to delve into improvisations that take them from their everyday world of thought and imagery with Alexander's lines that are fluid and melodic as LeDonne's piano is lyrically expressive and inventive. The Jimmy McHugh number "I'm In The Mood For Love" is next, with Alexander featured on alto saxophone as he develops the number filled with rapid-fire runs. LeDonne does his part as he roams the keyboard with his nuanced touch and harmonic sophistication.

One of the most compelling aspects of this release is the uniqueness of each track as the musicians explore unchartered territory. This is brought home in the Alexander composition "Mutation," done in one take. The number is propelled forward by a high gloss of improvised lines, allowing unique moments to appear organically. The Hoagy Carmichael heartfelt ballad "The Nearness Of You" slides along gracefully with Alexander's tenor shining through with an expressive depth of emotion as LeDonne's piano provides seamless support, adding layers of complexity to the music.

The closing track is another Alexander original, "Two In One." In this five-minute-plus solo 'tour de force,' Alexander's tenor saxophone embarks on an exploratory voyage into uncharted territory, yet maintaining a sense of cohesion and direction throughout.

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