Eric Alexander, Seamus Blake (tenor sax); Mike
LeDonne (piano/organ); Eric Söderland (guitar); Aldo Zunino (bass); Bernd
Reiter (drums) + Ian Shaw (vocal on Still)
(Review by Lance).
The two tenor front line is a long established format in jazz dating
back to Dexter Gordon/Wardell Gray; Gene Ammons/Sonny Stitt; Al Cohn/Zoot Sims
and, of course, closer to home - The Jazz Couriers with Ronnie Scott and Tubby
Hayes.
Alexander and Blake remain true to the tradition albeit with a more
contemporary edge to their playing and this session, recorded live last year at
Pizza Express, bears comparison with any tenor battle I've heard - on or off
record.
Both tenor players are brilliant but it doesn’t end there. Mike LeDonne
stepped in for the ailing Harold Mabern who sadly died this year and his
contributions on both piano and organ ensure the tension never drops. Likewise,
Söderland on guitar adds an extra dimension with Zunino and Reiter stoking the
fires that are burning out front.
A good mix of numbers: Encounter and Incazzato by
LeDonne; Second Impressions and Eddie Harris by
Alexander. The latter a tribute to a bygone tenor player who was as funky as
they come and the groove laid down is in keeping with the great man.
Coltrane’s Naima is taken at a relaxed tempo; the old
standard Heartaches has a nice easy swing whilst Lionel
Richie’s Still has the added attraction of a vocal by Ian Shaw
which does no harm at all.
Martin Hummel who produced the session for Ubuntu summed it with a
succinct comment “…by the end of the night, you had to scrape the musicians
off the ceiling and pry the audience out of their seats” adding afterwards
“And ultimately, isn’t that what jazz is all about?”
I’ll go along with that. If I’d been at Pizza I too would have had to be
pried off my seat – that is if I hadn’t already joined the musicians on the
ceiling!
Lance.
Release date November 7 on Ubuntu Music UBU0030
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