Reviewed by Eric Saeger
The most casual reader of this column identifies me as a non-fan of clarinetists. Did you know Alan Greenspan, the insane Ayn Rand devotee who almost single-handedly destroyed the US economy, played clarinet? It’s an odd quirk of fate that I even tore off the shrink wrap off this one, and trust me when I say that I was neither bug-eyed nor slobbering as I did. But surprise waited, even past the fact that the clarinet will forever have a place in old school bebop, which this is. Relics from semi-obscure fossils like Elmo Hope and Herbie Nichols form the basis for these jam sessions, characterized by a constant teasing interplay between clarinetist Alec Spiegelman and pianist Lefteris Kordis, the latter of whom brings Greek wedding-band experience to the fore here. Their jibber-jabbering is constant, incessant and world-class, from the band’s own stuff to their reverent, almost ghostly stab at Duke Ellington’s ‘Zurzday’.
Grade: A+
