It isn't uncommon for a
jazz
musician to label-hop -- instead of recording for one company exclusively, he/she will give different albums to different independent labels.
Bob Ackerman
did his share of label-hopping in the '90s, and the rugged,
Sonny Rollins
-influenced saxophonist was still doing so in the early 2000s. Released by the Los Angeles-based
Chase Music Group
in 2001,
A la Mode
is a totally pianoless effort that finds
Ackerman
leading mostly quartets or trios. His sidemen include, among others,
Joe Cohn
on guitar,
Chris Lough
on bass, and
Tom Sayek
or
Mark Griffith
on drums. For this decent
post-bop
/
hard bop
outing, the main tool in
's arsenal is the tenor sax -- he plays it on six of the 11 tracks (including
Don Sebesky
's
"Forget,"
the
Brazilian
-flavored
"L.T.D.,"
and the overdone standard
"It Could Happen to You"
). Meanwhile,
embraces the alto sax on two selections: the introspective
"Serenity"
and an unlikely
interpretation of the
Captain & Tennille
hit
"Come in From the Rain,"
both of which demonstrate that he is as confident and big-toned on alto as he is on tenor. And
plays a lyrical yet swinging flute on the three remaining selections, which range from the standard
"I Didn't Know What Time It Was"
(another tune that has been done to death over the years) to the dreamy
"Robin's Double Rainbow"
(an
original). No one will accuse
of being groundbreaking --
is no innovator -- but it's a noteworthy, if derivative and conventional release that fans of straight-ahead
bop
and
will enjoy. ~ Alex Henderson