Customer Reviews

The Classic Trio Meets Eric Alexander

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Start with the last tune on the album--Tad Dameron's "Our Delight"--and concentrate on nothing but Hazeltine's right-hand melodic inventions first and Alexander's equally inventive lines second. These two are as good on their respective instruments as anyone out there. Each has technique to spare, but it never comes into question because everything on this album is subservient to the art of improvisation, to the extemporaneous creation of melody. These are not the kind of musicians whose every recorded gesture is accompanied by the subtext (often primary text) of: "I am an artist. Be properly impressed by my great originality, politics, eclecticism, and revisioning of a tradition." Rather, it's musicians like these who provide the greater gift--a renewing of the tradition. Just as Hazeltine draws inspiration from Bud, Wyn Kelly, and Red Garland, Alexander speaks the language of Lester, Stitt, and above all Dexter. But the music is uniquely their own--along with any listener who can be moved by pure melody.

A fabulous quartet.Alexander on top form!