Search - Eddie Higgins :: Smoke Gets In Your Eyes

Higgins and Hamilton have a real winner!

Steve Emerine | Tucson, AZ United States | 12/13/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This is one of the best small-combo CDs of the 21st century, pairing the exceptional pianist Eddie Higgins with the well-known saxophonist Scott Hamilton on 11 standards. Higgins, not as well known perhaps as Hamilton, displays his piano talent throughout, but lets Hamilton take center stage on nearly every tune. This Venus recording (why didn't a U.S. firm snap it up before a Japanese company got it?) is hard to find in American stores. I got mine when Higgins brought some along when he appeared at the 2003 Sweet 'n' Hot Music Festival in Los Angeles. I urge you to get yours here -- and I implore Eddie and Scott to put out a second collaboration VERY soon."

Exquisite Music

Randy L. Smith | Kobe, Japan | 01/13/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"An earlier reviewer asks why this CD was released by a Japanese company (Venus) rather than an American one. The reason is simple enough. Like many other excellent releases on Venus, it was recorded specifically for that label and was never, as it were, a "free agent" waiting to be bought by the highest bidder. But the real reason such great music was not released on an American label probably runs deeper than that: in fact, corporate America has neglected the best of American music for decades, leaving many of our finest artists to look elsewhere for recording contracts; today much of the finest jazz being recorded by American musicians is being released on Japanese and European labels. Thanks to them, lots of great music is being made available to discerning listeners.



As for the music on hand here, I totally agree with that earlier reviewer: it is exquisite stuff. As with most of the Venus CD's, all of the selections are standards, and the emphasis is on ballads and medium tempo swingers. No warhorse romps here to break the overall mood. Venus production standards are also impeccable, resulting in a very nicely-packaged and rich-sounding disc. (Venus discs have a particular look, many featuring artsy photos of scantily-clad young women, or of sophisticated young couples smoking cigarettes.) On this particular disc, as with all Venus products I've heard, the musicians sound very relaxed, leading me to think the producers have given them considerable latitude in the studio. The feeling is of four masters delighting in a shared experience of creating music together, almost as if they were in an intimate club. Eddie Higgins plays very well, perhaps sounding a bit more spare than on some of his more effusive U.S. releases. Scott Hamilton's playing is a revelation. He has always been a very good player, but at this stage of his career (in his late 40's when this was recorded), he has come into his own as one of the true masters of modern mainstream saxophone. There is a logic to his solos and inventiveness aplenty, but what really stands out is his sound. Both Stan Getz and Ben Webster, later in their careers, developed styles of playing which were in part pure evocations of sound, as though joy, sorrow, elation and pain--the combined emotions and experiences of a lifetime--were all being expressed through their horns. I hear a similar quality in Scott's work. The supporting team of Steve Gilmore (bass) and Bill Goodwin (drums) round out a stellar quartet playing a set of exquisite music. Nothing here sounds rushed or frantic, and none of the musicians tries to outdo anyone else. A wonderful listening experience.



Check out the other collaborations on Venus between Scott and Eddie, as well."