2010 Eric Harland - Voyager: Live by Night {Xavier Felgeyrolles & Blue Geodesics} [WEB]

In the space of a few short years, he's become drummer of choice for icons like saxophonist Charles Lloyd and bassist Dave Holland, established next-generationers including trumpeter Terence Blanchard and guitarist Kurt Rosenwinkel, and young up-and-comers such as pianists Taylor Eigsti and Aaron Parks. Behind all of them—and as a member of the SFJAZZ Collective since 2005—Eric Harland has proven capable of everything from incendiary firepower to subtle shadings.
Some artists don't wait long enough before donning the leader's cap and releasing an album under their own name, but with his career now well into its second decade, and on the strength of Voyager Live By Night, it's possible that Harland has actually been overly conservative in waiting this long. With a group that's essentially Taylor Eigsti's quartet from Daylight at Midnight (Concord, 2010), plus the added tenor power of saxophonist Walter Smith III, Harland has delivered an album leaning heavy on the firepower, with ample room for solo explorations, while proving the drummer to be a composer still in the ascendance, but absolutely ready to step into the limelight.
Recorded live over four days in 2008, Voyager's group of young leaders includes, in addition to Eigsti, guitarist Julian Lage, who's been a pro since his teens, with vibraphonist Gary Burton, and whose own debut, Sounding Point (EmArcy, 2009) was an eclectic set reflecting maturity beyond his years. Here, unsaddled with his own leader's mantle, Lage gets to open up and really play, with controlled fervor and a warm tone which crosses Jim Hall and Pat Metheny.
It doesn't hurt that some of Harland's best tunes are barnstormers, like the modal workout "Treachery," which opens the set for the same reason that Holland selected it to kick off The Monterey Quartet: Live at the 2007 Monterey Jazz Festival (Monterey Jazz, 2009)—it's just that hot. Here, Lage and Smith engage in some accelerating interplay, supported by Eigsti's prodding chordal support, bassist Harish Raghavan's unshakable anchor (sometimes disposed towards long, tension-building ostinatos)—and, of course, Harland's relentless but never excessive combination of forward motion and empathic, polyrhythmic push-and-pull. Eigsti's solo, later in the tune, is a marvelous combination of potent McCoy Tyner-isms and virtuosic Eigsti-isms, before dissolving into one of two "Intermezzos"—solos that Harland uses to link his original material into a continuous, 46-minute suite that comprises over half of Voyager's 78-minute running time.
It's not all about high energy and playing that, while matching the demands of Harland's music—also including a buoyant version of Harland's optimistic "Development," from SFJAZZ Collective's Live 2005 (SFJAZZ, 2005)—embodies a spirited compositional focus to soloing and five sets of wide-open ears. As a writer, Harland goes beyond the mere head-solo-head that would almost have been enough for a group of players this strong, instead demonstrating, at times, a near-episodic approach that still encourages the players to create an on-the-fly sense of composition. The result is music as memorable for its constructs as it is for its opportunities.
"Eclipse" slows the pace down mid-set, with Lage demonstrating especially strong time at a slower tempo, and then segueing to another well-structured "Intermezzo" solo from Harland, before leading to the set's closers and only non-Harland compositions: a look at the Sam Rivers' rarely covered "Cyclic Episode," from one of the saxophonist's more centrist efforts, Fuschia Swing Song (Blue Note, 1964); and Eigsti's "Get Your Hopes Up," from his 2006 major label debut, Lucky To Be Me (Concord), here expanded to nearly four times its original length and closing the set on a high volume, high octane high note.
Every one of the musicians is a vital part of a new, modern mainstream. Collectively, Harland's group on Voyager Live By Night plays with the kind of commitment, prowess and plain good taste that enriches the album with countless "wish you were here" moments; Hopefully it won't have to be just a wish, if the album can successfully spread the word about a drummer who, impressing almost everyone who encounters his playing, has finally made the leap to composer and bandleader with the same exhilarating balance of aplomb and humility that's imbued his rapidly growing work as a sideman. ~ John Kelman

Eric Harland’s first album as a leader may put people in mind of Horacee Arnold’s 1974 classic Tales of the Exonerated Flea. The parallels admittedly aren’t perfect: The Arnold album was his second, was done in the studio (Harland’s was recorded live over several days in France), featured entirely new material (some that’s on Harland’s has been recorded before), and involved more rising-star sidemen than the four filling out Harland’s quintet. But this is another case of a brilliant, much-in-demand drummer in his mid-30s seizing the reins for a powerful album of his own, one both adventurous and accessible.
Joining Harland are Walter Smith III on tenor sax, Julian Lage on guitar, Taylor Eigsti on piano and Harish Raghaven on bass—all, like Harland (and Arnold), respectful of jazz tradition without being straitjacketed by it. The compositions are mostly Harland’s, the exceptions being a swinging cover of Sam Rivers’ “Cyclic Episode” and Eigsti’s four-part “Get Your Hopes Up.”
The album opens with “Treachery,” a burner whose treacherousness emphasizes these musicians’ virtuosity, as it had when Harland recorded it in 2007 in a collaborative all-star quartet at Monterey. “Development,” heard previously with the SFJAZZ Collective, has a chipper, similarly tricky head and one of Eigsti’s best solos. Lage’s guitar work and some of Harland’s finest drumming give “Voyager” an African feel. “Turn Signal” and “Eclipse” both slow things down initially to ballad-like tempos before picking up steam. And Harland stitches his own compositions together with three drum intermezzos, the most riveting of them lasting nearly eight minutes.
The musicians complement one another marvelously (it helps that Lage and Eigsti have worked together extensively). Lage’s prodigious chops give the proceedings a Metheny-esque feel in places, and Harland essentially solos even when he’s keeping time. It’s fresh, powerful stuff that ideally they’ll build on. ~ Bill Beuttler
Несмотря на то, что ему лишь 35, Эрик Дю'шон Харлэнд является, бесспорно, одним из самых уважаемых и востребованных ударников в современном джазе. Родился музыкант в Хьюстоне 8 ноября 1976 года. Начал свою выдающуюся карьеру в 1993-ем, вскоре на него обратил внимание Уинтон Марсалис и пригласил учиться в Нью-Йорк. Помимо Manhattan School of Music, Эрик окончил Houston Baptist University по специальности "теология". С тех пор, он принял участие в записи более чем сотни альбомов с самыми именитыми мастерами: как со "стариками" (Betty Carter, Joe Henderson, Charles Lloyd, McCoy Tyner, Dave Holland), так и со средним поколением (Joshua Redman, Terence Blanchard, Kenny Garrett, Greg Osby, Kurt Rosenwinkel, Jason Moran, SF JAZZ Collective), и с новой волной джазменов (Aaron Goldberg, Daynа Stephens, Aaron Parks)... Харлэнд неоднократно номинировался на "Грэмми", трижды подряд признавался Rising Star Drums по опросу критиков Downbeat Magazine, а читатели того же издания в 2005 году назвали его в числе трех наиболее влиятельных джазовых барабанщиков (наряду с такими столпами как Элвин Джонс и Рой Хэйнс). Помимо этого, он вместе с Terence Blanchard сыграл в 18 саундтреках к голливудским фильмам (The Caveman's Valentine (с Сэмюэлем Л. Джексоном), Original Sin (Антонио Бандерас и Анджелина Джоли), People I Know (Аль Пачино и Ким Бэсинджер) и др.).
В раздаче же в своем роде уникальный альбом, т.к. несмотря на все перечисленные достижения, Эрик Харлэнд записал пока единственную пластинку в качестве бэндлидера. И она перед вами!