 There
are many great albums by saxophonist Eric Marienthal, all of
which would fall into my "old favorites." But
One Touch is the first one I heard. It
made me a big fan of this extremely talented guy, who, in a perfect
world, would be a bigger "star" than he is. But
Eric is not a "smooth and relaxing" kind of guy. A
graduate of Berklee College of Music in Boston, Eric spent many
years playing sax in Chick Corea's Elektric Band. They
recorded six CDs and won two Grammys. Corea produced Marienthal's
first solo album, Voices of the Heart. Like
I said, not a "smooth and relaxing" kind of guy. But
don't let that serious jazz background scare you. Eric's
records are very "smooth jazz listener friendly." They
are also engaging, so set some time aside to actively listen.
One Touch was release in 1993 and
featured Paul Jackson, Jr., Jeff Lorber, Dave Koz, Jimmy Haslip,
Russell Ferrante, Carl Anderson, John Patitucci, and David
Benoit. The record opens with "No Doubt About It" which
has a deceptive early 90s pop-ish intro. This one is
quintessential 1993 contemporary jazz. It was a GOOD
year. Next up is "That's the Way," a wonderful
soprano sax duet by Marienthal and Dave Koz – both masters
of that instrument - that is best listened to with headphones
so you can get a clearer distinction between the two saxmen. "One
for James" only takes about a half of a measure to figure
out "James" is James Brown. Written by Russell
Ferrante, Jimmy Haslip and Marienthal, they do James proud.
"Walk Through the Fire" is probably the most commercial track on
the album, with Benet lending vocals. But on this record, that really
isn't an insult. "Ouch" – what can I say? This
track is a little touch of contemporary jazz heaven right here on earth. This
is a tune I really want to hear live before I check out of this place. "Westland" features
a funky little R&B groove. "The Village" will help remind
you of the time when "fusion" wasn't a bad word. But that was
when it was expected that you'd actually listen actively to a recording… for
a full six minutes.
"Tanto Amor," written by Russell Ferrante and Ivan Lins, carries
us to a romantic Brazilian evening. And just as its name would imply, "Backtalk" is
sassy and just plain fun. Closing things out is the beautiful, longing,
pensive "Where Are You?" Suffice it to say, if you've never
listened to an Eric Marienthal CD, please go out and find one. One
Touch is a good place to start.
-Elizabeth Ware
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