Friendly Fire: Live at Smoke

by Eric Alexander, Vincent Herring

Overview

There is a long tradition of "saxophone battles" in jazz with duos such as Dexter Gordon and Wardell Gray or Sonny Rollins and John Coltrane performing together in a kind of sporting joust of abilities, a gentleman's contest for who is the better player. On the 2012 concert album Friendly Fire: Live at Smoke, tenor saxophonist Eric Alexander and alto saxophonist Vincent Herring join in this tradition with a swinging, passionate set of standards recorded live at the respected N.Y.C. venue. The album is actually a re-pairing of the duo, who first sparred on 2005's Battle: Live at Smoke. This time around they spar over such numbers as Hank Mobley's "Pat 'N' Chat," McCoy Tyner's "Inception," the standard "You've Changed," as well as Herring's own "Timothy," among others. Backing the saxophonists here are pianist Mike LeDonne, bassist John Webber, and drummer Carl Allen. This is a lively and exciting session of adventurous and old-school straight-ahead jazz. ~ Matt Collar

Product Details

Release Date:	03/13/2012
Label:	Highnote Records
UPC:	0632375723224
Rank:	103510

Tracks

1. Pat 'n' Chat
2. Sukiyaki
3. Inception
4. Dig Dis
5. You've Changed
6. Here's That Rainy Day
7. Mona Lisa
8. Timothy

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Vincent Herring   Primary Artist,Sax (Alto)
Eric Alexander   Primary Artist,Sax (Tenor)
Carl Allen   Drums
Mike LeDonne   Piano
John Webber   Bass

Technical Credits

Hank Mobley   Composer
Johnny Burke   Composer
Hachidai Nakamura   Composer
Keiji Obata   Design
Rokusuke Ei   Composer
Salvatore Corso   Photography
Paul Stache   Engineer
Bill Carey   Composer
Joe Fields   Executive Producer
Carl Fischer   Composer
Eric Alexander   Producer
James Van Heusen   Composer
Frank Christopher   Engineer
Ray Evans   Composer
David Stoller   Mixing,Editing
Donald Elfman   Liner Notes
Vincent Herring   Composer,Producer
Jay Livingston   Composer
McCoy Tyner   Composer