It isn't hard to understand why
Eric Alexander
has employed acoustic pianist
Harold Mabern
on more than a few of his albums. The big-toned tenor saxophonist has enjoyed a strong rapport with his former teacher, and that rapport is very much in evidence on
Revival of the Fittest
.
Alexander
employs
Mabern
on almost every song on this 2009 recording; the exception is
's contemplative
"Yasashiku (Gently),"
which finds
performing a tenor/piano duet with
Mike LeDonne
. But
features
on every other track, and the two of them form a cohesive acoustic quartet with bassist
Nat Reeves
and drummer
Joe Farnsworth
. One has high expectations when
and
get together; they don't let us down on a hard bop/post-bop CD that ranges from inspired performances of
George Coleman
's
"Revival,"
Ivan Lins
'
"The Island,"
Michel Legrand
"You Must Believe in Spring"
to two
pieces that the pianist previously recorded on albums of his own (the driving
"Too Late Fall Back Baby"
and the
Phineas Newborn, Jr.
-dedicated
"Blues for Phineas"
). Ballads have long been one of
's strong points, and he reminds us how expressive a ballad player he can be on
Marvin Fisher
"Love-Wise"
(which
Nat King Cole
made famous with a
Nelson Riddle
-arranged recording in 1958).
's performance of
recalls
John Coltrane
's hard bop period of the late '50s, when he was recording for
Prestige
;
Trane
gave us some delightfully lyrical recordings of ballads during his pre-
Atlantic
period (including
"Stardust,"
"Lush Life,"
"Invitation"
), and
acknowledges
-era
on
but does so without allowing his own personality to become obscured.
is yet another example of how rewarding an
album can be when
is on board. ~ Alex Henderson