Say
Eric Letta
Jazzeejones Productions

Warm, sexy tones of bop and traditional jazz styles, and a strong embouchure fortify Akron native Eric Letta’s debut CD Say. With shades of Monk, Getz, Ornette Coleman and Dexter Gordon looming, the award winning saxophonist and Kent State grad has done right by a genre that hardcore fans clearly worry about the future of. Say features seven original compositions and two classic American arrangements – “God Bless the Child,” the gospel-tinged “You Are My Sunshine” – all articulated in his own inimitable manner on tenor and soprano saxes. The harmonies and rhythms on the disc have a slightly modern jazz bent, but that keeps the whole experience fresh and inviting play after play.

From the opening strains of the upbeat ”Breakfast with the Maestro,” to the smoldering balladry of “A Different Kind of Loneliness,” to the sashay swing of the hep “Just Another Rock in the Pile,” Say offers all the cosmopolitan cool of a shimmering downtown skyline. What makes this disc a classic is Letta’s heart, instinctual phrasing and congenial tonal quality. It reminds me of the same passion that local jazz drummer Paul Samuels offered on his Speak disc recently.

If not for style then certainly for passion, Letta’s je ne sais quois is what continues to draw people to watersheds like Kind of Blue, Mingus Ah Um, Birth of the Cool, Blue Train and the like. It sounds a little presumptuous to start tossing Letta’s name around in the same breath as Miles Davis, Charles Mingus and John Coltrane. But those who savor tradition and originality in their selections will get where this reviewer is coming from when they hear it themselves.

Eric Letta will lead his Akron based Quartet in a debut at Nighttown, 12387 Cedar Road (top of Cedar Hill), Cleveland Hts this coming Friday, July 13 at 8PM. Visit http://www.nighttowncleveland.com for details.

From Cool Cleveland Managing Editor Peter Chakerian peterATcoolcleveland.com

Wanna get reviewed? Send your band's CD (less than 1 year old) to: Cool Cleveland, 14837 Detroit Avenue, #105, Lakewood, OH 44107
(:divend:)