Earl Anderza is not a household name, even in Jazz fanatic circles. But he is (was) a fine player and improviser on the alto sax with a varied style - a bag of tricks that captures my interest throughout his sole album as a leader: Outa Sight (Pacific Jazz). It's a beautiful record, and a minor classic of West Coast Jazz.
The other musician featured on the album is Jack Wilson, another fine West Coast musician (with a couple of Blue Note recordings to his name). Wilson switches from piano to harpsichord for a couple of tracks, an unusual choice which works well for me (the rattling clunkiness of the harpsichord actually makes for a pretty good blues instrument).
The tracklist is a mix of group originals and standards (there's a great version of Cole Porter's "You'd Be So Nice to Come Home to"). The mood is plaintive, longing, downbeat, with Earl's sax responsible for much of the tension.
Too bad Earl Anderza never made it bigger - he had the talent.
Sounds samples from HMV Japan, CD available from Amazon.
The other musician featured on the album is Jack Wilson, another fine West Coast musician (with a couple of Blue Note recordings to his name). Wilson switches from piano to harpsichord for a couple of tracks, an unusual choice which works well for me (the rattling clunkiness of the harpsichord actually makes for a pretty good blues instrument).
The tracklist is a mix of group originals and standards (there's a great version of Cole Porter's "You'd Be So Nice to Come Home to"). The mood is plaintive, longing, downbeat, with Earl's sax responsible for much of the tension.
Too bad Earl Anderza never made it bigger - he had the talent.
Sounds samples from HMV Japan, CD available from Amazon.
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