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Michael Brecker "Two Blocks from the Edge"

Tenor sax titan Michael Brecker spent most of the 70's and 80's in the studio working on other people's albums. He proved early on that he was a master of many styles. Just look at the diverse range of artists he has recorded and toured with: Horace Silver, Cameo, Paul Simon, McCoy Tyner, Chick Corea, The Rolling Stones, and Frank Zappa. In 1986, Brecker decided to reward his eager fan-base with a record of his own. This eponymous debut is now a classic. Since then, Brecker has released four more installments to his catalog. Not all have been stellar, but lately they're getting much better and much more focused.

"Two Blocks from the Edge" follows on the heals of last year's Grammy winning "Tales from the Hudson". Unlike the allstar mix-and-match strategies employed previously, Brecker wisely chooses to enlist his touring band on this session (Joey Calderazzo, piano; Jeff 'Tain' Watts, drums; James Genus, bass; and Don Alias, percussion). Shinning brigther than ever is pianist Joey Calderazzo. Many of us remember when Brecker brought his new band to Rockefellers in 1987. The most memorable moments came from the blistering solos of his newly discovered 23 year-old pianist. Brecker and Calderazzo have been bandmates ever since.

Brecker starts things off with a track called "Madame Toulouse" which has a New Orleans second-line feel. It features a chops-battle between the leader and his pianist. It's all in the name of bop, right? The album moves along through a couple more swinging Brecker tunes all of which are interesting, but not amazing. Things change for the better on Calderazzo's "El Nino", the most memorable tune on this release. Once this storm subsides, they relax with the ballad "Cat's Cradle" which gives bassist James Genus a chance to stretch out. "The Impaler", the only tune written by Tain, is the coolest of the lot. It starts off as an up tempo note-fest, but lands in a 7/4 vamp where everyone burns (it also ends up a bit faster than it started!).

Two Blocks from the Edge is an enjoyable album. I would rank it as his third best (with the debut and last year's release leading the pack). Check it out!

***1/2 (out of five)

-AJL

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