Eric Alexander-John Hicks-George Mraz-Idris Muhammad • Solid!

 

Review by Richard S. Ginell
This CD appears under the listing of tenorman Eric Alexander only as a matter of alphabetical convenience, for he is in fact co-billed with pianist John Hicks, bassist George Mraz and drummer Idris Muhammad in this re-creation of a Prestige leaderless date. Anticipating Prestige's 50th anniversary in 1999, producer Todd Barkan combed the files to find out which were the label's most successful records and then, with Hicks, chose nine songs -- not all of which are in the Prestige catalog, by the way -- for this generation-spanning hard bop quartet to purvey. Alexander serves straight-up, direct, honest emotion on Fred Lacey's "Theme for Ernie," and gets a bit lost on Miles Davis' "Four" before extracting himself neatly, and also does a nice job with the theme of Sonny Clark's "My Conception," an ironic title given that the opening bars (and a few other besides) clearly provided the basis for Bill Evans' famous "Waltz for Debby." Vibist Joe Locke sits in for Alexander on "Fire Waltz"; trumpeter Jim Rotondi joins the front line (but doesn't solo) on "Little Melonae" and "Straight Street," and a relaxed Hicks takes on Monk's "Light Blue" alone. Nothing startling here, but fans of uncompromising modern hard bop will definitely enjoy this.
https://www.allmusic.com/album/solid%21-mw0000044375

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Reseña de Richard S. Ginell
Este CD aparece bajo el nombre del tenor Eric Alexander sólo por una cuestión de conveniencia alfabética, ya que en realidad es co-fichado con el pianista John Hicks, el bajista George Mraz y el batería Idris Muhammad en esta recreación de una fecha sin líder de Prestige. Anticipándose al 50 aniversario de Prestige en 1999, el productor Todd Barkan peinó los archivos para averiguar cuáles eran los discos de más éxito del sello y luego, con Hicks, eligió nueve canciones -no todas las cuales están en el catálogo de Prestige, por cierto- para que este cuarteto de hard bop de toda una generación las interpretara. Alexander sirve emoción directa y honesta en "Theme for Ernie" de Fred Lacey, y se pierde un poco en "Four" de Miles Davis antes de extraerse limpiamente, y también hace un buen trabajo con el tema de "My Conception" de Sonny Clark, un título irónico dado que los compases iniciales (y algunos más) claramente proporcionaron la base para el famoso "Waltz for Debby" de Bill Evans. El vibrante Joe Locke sustituye a Alexander en "Fire Waltz"; el trompetista Jim Rotondi se une a la primera línea (pero no toca en solitario) en "Little Melonae" y "Straight Street", y un relajado Hicks interpreta en solitario "Light Blue" de Monk. No es nada sorprendente, pero los amantes del hard bop moderno sin concesiones lo disfrutarán sin duda.
https://www.allmusic.com/album/solid%21-mw0000044375

Tracks:
1 - Solid
Composed By – Sonny Rollins 7:53
2 - Little Melonae
Composed By – Jackie McLean 8:34
3 - Theme For Ernie
Composed By – Fred Lacey 7:37
4 - Fire Waltz
Composed By – Mal Waldron 5:56
5 - Four
Composed By – Miles Davis 6:51
6 - The Star-Crossed Lovers
Composed By – Billy Strayhorn, Duke Ellington 4:54
7 - My Conception
Composed By – Sonny Clark 6:56
8 - Little Blue
Composed By – Thelonious Monk 4:58
9 - Straight Street
Composed By – John Coltrane 6:33


Credits:
    Bass – George Mraz
    Drums – Idris Muhammad
    Engineer [Assistant] – Mark Fraunfelder
    Mastered By – George Horn
    Piano – John Hicks
    Producer – Todd Barkan
    Producer [Assistant] – David Weiss (9)
    Recorded By, Mixed By – Troy Halderson
    Tenor Saxophone – Eric Alexander
    Trumpet – Jim Rotondi (tracks: 2, 9)
    Vibraphone – Joe Locke (tracks: 4)

Label:    Milestone (4) – MCD-9283-2
Country:    US
Released:    oct 1998
Genre:    Jazz
https://www.discogs.com/es/release/5862005-Eric-Alexander-John-Hicks-George-Mraz-Idris-Muhammad-Solid

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