Listening Pleasure

Album Review

Tulsa, OK, saxophonist Eldredge Jackson is a childhood friend of Wayman Tisdale, professional basketball player and jazz bassist, and Tisdale has collaborated heavily with Jackson on this, his debut album, co-producing it, writing, or co-writing seven of the nine original compositions, and playing numerous instruments, including the basic programming of most of the tracks. For his part, Jackson provides the tenor and alto saxophone playing that rides over the typical R&B-influenced rhythm tracks. He has a fluid style and a warm tone, but he doesn't distinguish himself from other similar players, and the music for the most part comes off as faceless contemporary jazz. The exceptions come whenever Jackson covers R&B favorites of the late '70s and early '80s, Lionel Richie's "Hello," Michael Jackson's "Rock with You" (in two versions), and the relatively obscure Isley Brothers song "Voyage to Atlantis" (which appeared on their 1977 album Go for Your Guns and barely made the R&B Top 50). On these songs, Jackson cuts loose much more than he does on his and Tisdale's originals, perhaps feeling so comfortable with the music that he is able to solo more fervently. Maybe the album should have consisted entirely of covers.