Eric Alexander [Straight Up] Roughly 13 months ago i played this album [11th February 2010], and its turn has rolled around again, this disc resides at No10 in my all time favourite discs, now that's high considering i've got over 1600 discs!, i bought this in the early days of falling in love with Jazz [1994], back then i would just stroll into a music store, browse around, pick a disc that i thought looked good, and just buy it, and that's the way i got into Jazz, i bought loads of duds, but then i also discovered discs like this, that at that time i would have discovered no other way.
Eric Alexander is an American Saxophonist, now 42 years old, he cut this record in 1992, the front cover is what first attracted me to this disc, a monotone photograph [by Eric Futron], with Alexander in blue, and the background in green, the lettering is all over the place, with 4 different fonts!, and yet it somehow gels together, i still feel that it's a very pleasing booklet cover.
Well in listening to this today on random play, the first three tracks to roll off the disc were the best, tracks 1, 6 & 8, and it's track 6 'An Oscar For Treadwell', it has very much a big band Fifties feel to it, at least in the opening theme [0:00-0:34], mainly because Rotondi uses a mute, but it's a cleverly executed theme tune, very brisk and snappy, then Alexander gets a shot at a fairly long solo [0:35-3:24], good straight ahead Jazz here, he doesn't do anything really noticeable, but certainly well worth listening too as well, next up is the Trumpeter Jim Rotondi [3:25-4:32], and now he's minus the mute, very much in the same vein as Alexander, but quite a short solo, Harold Mabern comes in next, and he just can't do anything just straight [4:32-5:37], and he tries some fancy stuff, and he has a jittery section up in the treble [5:04-5:16], very inventive and inspiring, but on the other hand you feel that Mabern is trying too hard, and then for the next minute the Drummer George Fludas has a bunch of 4 second solos, interspersed with a 4 second solo from the saxophone, and then the trumpet in a constant order, very exciting indeed, after the last drum solo, all the instruments sing out the opening theme, returning right at the end in reprise glory [6:45-7:20], the track ends abruptly as the theme ends, a nice way to finish.
Eric Alexander - Tenor Saxophone
Jim Rotondi - Trumpet
Harold Mabern - Piano
John Webber - Bass
George Fludas - Drums
It's a Charlie Parker song, so here's Charlie Parker playing his own song on YouTube.
