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Title: Can I have an Eric, with a side of Eric please?
Review: The first piece I ever heard Eric Reed play was Longhair's Rumba. Shortly before he began, he said he really wanted to master ballads, because that shows true piano talent. Then he proceeds to rip the music apart and reassemble it just in time to conclude it with the final two chords. The improv was simply outstanding yet, at the same time, the construction was perfect! The only thing that makes this album fall short of perfect is not enough Eric. There are players out there with a `me and my Steinway' complex. But it's as if in an effort to stay modest, Reed sometimes serves us up shortfall, letting those under his tutelage shine bright, all aglow in his bandleader-slash-teacher moments. Okay, but...Eric, you are perfect, so how about less tenor sax, less percussion, and just Eric, washed clean, wearing communion white, with maybe a little bass on the side? (Buster Williams, maybe?) More Eric, please. Hold the slaw.
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