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Alto saxophonist Benjamin Drazen has been plying his trade around Manhattan’s network of small jazz bars—places like 55 Bar, Smalls, and The Garage—for over a decade. At long last, the New York native unveils his debut outing, Inner Flights. In a program of mostly original music, Drazen consistently delivers strong post-Coltrane fire, with a sound that lies somewhere between Jackie McLean and Gary Bartz. Paired with Drazen, his band is a juggernaut, everyone possessed of the frenetic, driving pulse destined to keep this music aloft.

Opening with an up-tempo blues, “Mr. Twilight,” the melody skates through modal twists, accented by pianist Jon Davis‘ strong, McCoy Tyner-ish left hand. Drazen’s opening, guns-a-blazing drive is met with the full support of the trio behind him. A Thelonious Monk tribute follows with “Monkish,” a nod to the legendary pianist’s more comedic side, à la “Raised Four.” True to the title, Davis begins this track with a jagged piano intro.

The album’s apex arrives in the middle of the program, with the title track. Here, Drazen switches to soprano, unleashing a dazzling Coltrane-esque solo. The energy is matched again on Davis’s arrangement of the rarely-heard Kurt Weill standard “This Is New.”

Drazen closes the set with the ballad show tune “Polkadots and Moonbeams,” highlighting his affinity for Cannonball Adderley. The slower pace can be a trap for less experienced soloists, but for Drazen it’s an incentive to be lyrical and swinging at the same time. A relaxed, Red Garland-style solo from Davis adds to the Adderley homage.

On Inner Flights, Drazen and his swinging cohorts deliver on all fronts. It’s a head-turning debut from a talented and extremely capable new voice.

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Benjamin Drazen Inner Flights:

Soprano and alto sax specialist Benjamin Drazen is a relative newcomer, and Inner Flights released earlier this week on Posi-Tone Records marks his first foray as a leader on an album. That doesn’t mean he sounds “green,” though. Now here’s where I might say which famous altoist Drezen sounds like, but I’m kind of reluctant to do so because he sounds more like a “little bit of this and a little bit of that.” I will say that he’s more of an old school kind of player who knows how and when to bend a note to squeeze the most soul juice out of it and though he can fly up and down the scales like a real bebopper, he’s more apt to play for the feel than to show off.

For his debut, Drazen went with the tried-and-true quartet format, ably backed up by Jon Davis on piano, Carlo De Rosa on bass and Eric McPherson on drums. In this set of nine songs, Drazen wrote seven of them, and they reveal a real range in his composing: going from the post-bop cooker “Mr. Twilight” to the floating ballad “Prayer For Brothers Gone,” or the urbane “Kickin’ Up Dirt.” But I might like his exercise on making up his own Thelonious Monk tune the best. “Monkish” has all the impishness of a Monk composition with an unmistakable blues and bop-based foundation. Inner Flights gets Benjamin Drazen’s solo career off the ground with a smooth takeoff.

Brian Landrus Quartet Traverse: Baritone sax players tend to get the short shrift in recognition compared to practitioners of the “lighter” saxophones. It’s big, burly sound has more edge in its tone that might be a little gruff to some but that didn’t stop Gerry Mulligan from making some jazz history with it. Luckily, though, there’s still players out there blowing the big horn with all the swing and passion of their forbears. One of those cats is Brian Landrus.

Landrus put out his first record just last year. Forward was covered here and that record was an octet. ForTraverse, released March 1, Landrus whittles it down to a quartet, retaining Michael Cain on piano and adding the top-rate Lonnie Plaxico and Billy Hart on bass and drums, respectively. Landrus wrote, or cowrote with Cain, all of the eight songs except for “Body And Soul.” In this lighter arrangement, we get to hear more of Landrus (who also doubles on bass clarinet) and here we discover how much of a tenor player he sounds like; his a cappella piece “Soul And Body” followed by a straight rendition of “Body And Soul” a more feathery sound in his baritone that you don’t hear often, and it’s very enjoyable to hear. “Gnosis,” “Lone,” and “Lydian 4″ are also highlights, but there’s no real filler on this record. Traverse is another chapter in the fast-developing career of Brian Landrus. And his third record Capsule is due out in July. Watch out for this guy.

steptempest.blogspot.com

The joy of jazz is that there are always new artists to discover.  Saxophonist Benjamin Drazen graduated from the New England Conservatory of Music in the mid-1990s and returned to his native New York City.  He’s played funk, Latin music, r’n’b and lots of jazz.  His debut recording “Inner Flights” shows up on the Posi-Tone Records label, quickly becoming the home for good, straight-ahead, jazz. Drazen, joined by pianist Jon Davis, bassist Carlo De Rosa and drummer Eric McPherson, has created a program that blends hard-bop with the searching aspects of John Coltrane’s music.  The sound is clean and uncluttered, his alto and soprano sax playing filled with swift, clearly articulated lines with a supporting cast that is solid, creative, and in sync. Pianist Davis, best known for his work with the late Jaco Pastorious as well as the Joris Teepe Band and Beatle Jazz, is a fine player;  his solos on pieces like “This Is New”  and “Monkish” are fresh and entertaining.  His accompaniment on the contemplative “”Prayer for Brothers Gone” and sweetly turned “Polka Dots and Moonbeams” is welcome and free of cliche.  Drazen is playful on “Jazz Heaven“, filled with twists, bent notes and rapid-fire phrases. He shows his fiery side after moving to soprano on the Coltrane-inspired title track (also featuring excellent support from McPherson and hardy bass work from De Rosa.)
One gets the feeling Benjamin Drazen waited some time before stepping out on his own, building a solid repertoire and working on his mechanics. It’s been worth the wait for this music has well-shaped melodic and harmonic ideas without feeling forced or immature.  “Inner Flights” is a promising beginning to Drazen’s solo career as a leader; let’s hope for many more flights.  For more information, go towww.benjamindrazen.com or go to www.posi-tone.com.
Take a sonic ride to “Jazz Heaven” courtesy of Posi-Tone Records and IODA Promonet;
Jazz Heaven (mp3)

http://www.allaboutjazz.com/php/article.php?id=38860

The peaceful, John Lennon-like face on the cover of Inner Flights is merely a mask. Behind that calm exterior is a musician with killer instincts and serious chops. Sure, saxophonist Benjamin Drazen can be calm and graceful when he wants to, as he is on Inner Flights‘ closing track, “Polka Dots And Moonbeams,” but more often than not, Drazen takes to the skies in spectacularly soaring flights.

On his debut album, Drazen dives head first into music of a mystical nature (“Prayer For Brothers Gone”), songs built on shifting terra firma (“Jazz Heaven”), original music created in the image of the great Thelonious Monk(“Monkish”) and standards, both rare (Ira Gershwin‘s “This Is New”) and commonplace (“Polka Dots And Moonbeams”). In creating this diverse program of music, Drazen also presents different pictures of himself as a soloist: in one instance, ripping through some burning, angular lines with a take-no-prisoners attitude (“Mr. Twilight”); in another, going through a spiritual catharsis over a loosely knit backdrop of arco bass, cymbal swells and pianistic waves (“Prayer For Brothers Gone”). While alto saxophone seems to be Drazen’s main axe, he demonstrates great skill and potential, along with a Dave Liebman-like zeal, when he wields his soprano on the title track.

Pianist Jon Davis often shares the solo duties with Drazen, but some of the best moments come when they give drummer Eric McPherson some face time. “Monkish,” which begins with a piano solo that’s more caricature than homage, features some fine solo exchanges between Drazen, Davis and McPherson; the pianist going, perhaps, one step too far in his introduction, but more than redeeming himself during a solo spot which includes a brief “Bemsha Swing” quote. McPherson and bassist Carlo De Rosa masterfully steer the band through “Jazz Heaven,” which is built on a continually shifting form, from straight swing to Latin, with a brief odd-metered detour in the middle. Eventually, De Rosa and Davis create a vamping presence in the Latin section, allowing McPherson free reign.

While Drazen proves his worth in a variety of settings early on, the final pair of songs fill in two of the most important missing pieces. The penultimate performance gives Drazen a chance to show that he can do the searching, ’70s saxophone thing (“Kickin’ Up Dirt”) as well as the next guy, while the closing “Polka Dots And Moonbeams” proves that Drazen can excel in a standard ballad setting. With Inner Flights, Benjamin Drazen has created a complete and lasting work of meaning that’s an early contender for best debut album of 2011.

www.jazzreview.com

Featured Artist: Benjamin Drazen

CD Title: Inner Flights

Year: 2011

Record Label: Posi-Tone

Style: Straight-Ahead / Classic

Musicians: Benjamin Drazen (alto & soprano saxophones), Jon Davis (piano), Carlo De Rosa (bass), Eric McPherson (drums)

Review: New York saxophonist Benjamin Drazen doesn’t waste any time letting a listener know what his musical intent is all about. From the opening moments of Inner Flights, his debut release as a leader, the fiery alto and soprano saxophonist swings unrepentantly with blistering lines and a bold, Jackie McLean-inspired sounds. Along with a high-energy rhythm section, Drazen delivers a sturdy set of his straight-ahead originals and a couple of standards.At ease with fast tempos, Drazen careens effortlessly through the opening “Mr. Twilight” and “This is New.” The disc has a more reflective side, however, with the brooding “Prayer for Brothers Gone” and “Neeney’s Waltz,” showcasing the saxophonist’s ability to shape ideas while still emphasizing bebop ornamentation. The Coltrane-leaning title track has a muscular, modal groove with Drazen going for broke on the soprano and pianist Jon Davis lending heavy-handed comping.

Davis proves an inventive soloist with a firm grasp of jazz piano history, as evidenced on “Monkish.” Bassist Carlo De Rosa and drummer Eric McPherson keep things crisp and lively throughout. The two are let loose to explore on the mood shifting “Jazz Heaven.”

As a composer and soloist, Drazen has a lot to offer. Inner Flights is an enticing look into his unique creativity.

Record Label Website: https://www.posi-tone.com

Artist’s Website: http://www.benjamindrazen.com

Reviewed by: John Vincent Barron