There's an old saying that a great jazz musician never plays a song the same way once. That could certainly be said of Eric Alexander. One of the busiest players in jazz yet his playing is as imaginative as ever, with the ideas pouring out of his horn. His harmonic inventiveness is exceptional and he'll run the changes at such length at times that you wonder if he'll resolve everything in time and end up back on the beat — but he always does. He has a big, full, sound, and a ferocious technique, with access to the full range of his instrument, all under super-human control. Both the Bird and the Sonny Rollins legacies have been thoroughly internalized but here Eric explores the repertoire of another school of tenor playing — the Chicagoans. With long-time collaborators Harold Mabern, John Webber and Joe Farnsworth Eric gives the nod to some Windy City players who helped shape the sound of jazz for decades  Eddie Harris, Von Freeman and others.

ERIC ALEXANDER, tenor saxophone • Jeremy Pelt, trumpet • Harold Mabern, piano • John Webber, bass • Joe Farnsworth, drums

TRACKS: Save Your Love For Me • The Bee Hive • Eddie Harris • Just One of Those Things • Blueski for Vonski • Mr. Stitt • You Talk That Talk • Don't Take Your Love From Me

 Save Your Love for Me

 Eddie Harris

 Mr. Stitt

 You Talk That Talk