A Brand New Take

If SMOKIN'-hot jazz trumpet work is what you're yearning for, you will be listening to the near-hour recording over & over again, I can guarantee that! Erik leads with his trumpet and flugelhorn, but is also joined by some of the finest Bay-area jazz players on the planet - Kasey Knudsen, alto sax; Matt Clark, piano; John Wiitala, bass; Hamir Atwal, drums.. as well as guests Dave Ellis, tenor sax (1,5) and John Gove, trombone (5)... as you listen to the highly-charged environment they create on "Blues for Q", you'll realize you're in the presence of true jazz mastery - I'm LOVIN' it! Their rendition of "My Funny Valentine" is a sonic adventure like you've never heard before, too.. wonderful blending of the instruments, and a superb recording make this one of the best performances of this piece I've ever listened to. Since my main criteria for review here is "energy", it was (very) easy to choose the absolutely kickin' 7:17 "Streamlined" as my personal favorite... what an excellent way to open a musical adventure; my recommendation for this track (& all the others, in fact) is that you listen to it, at least on your first foray, with headphones a-blastin'! I give Erik & his wizard-like musical cohorts a MOST HIGHLY RECOMMENDED, with an "EQ" (energy quotient) rating of 4.99 for this stellar album.