Vincent Herring - American Experience

1 The Atholete 05:05

2 V.H. 1 05:15

3 American Experience 06:27

4 Almost Like The First 08:07

5 Anné's Mood 08:25

6 Sweet Georgia Bright 04:56

7 You Know My Eyes 05:39

8 Metropolis Blues 03:43

9 Elation 04:37

10 Peace 05:48

September 1988: it's after-hours at the Chicago Jazz Festival. As usual, out-of-town players have assembled at the Jazz Showcase for an organized jam. One night, no less than a dozen saxophonists hit the bandstand. Each sits in for a tune or two, blows a few choruses, and then makes way for the next. They're good -- but in a festival week crammed with fine performances, none of these jousters really grabs the ear. Not until this alto player gets up. From his opening chorus, he's blowing so much saxophone that conversations stop. In one corner of the room, visiting critics start turning to each other to ask, "Where'd he come from?" "New York," a scribe from back east says, grinning like he's going to share a secret. "That's Vincent Herring." A new name to you, too? Not for long. Even then, Herring was getting around; in fact, he's already recorded three of the tunes on this album. In the late 1980s, Herring worked with, among others, Horace Silver, Nat Adderley, Cedar Walton, Larry Coryell, Jack DeJohnette's Special Edition, Beaver Harris's 360 Degree Music Experience, and the big bands of Lionel Hampton and David Murray. That list suggests his range: he can dissect chord progressions like a surgeon and wail with high energy. In Paris in 1988, he appeared in fast company at an Alto Summit that ncluded Jackie McLean (a Herring fan), Phil Woods, Frank Morgan, Bob Mover, and C Sharps. As of this writing, he's on upcoming albums by Adderley, John Stubblefield, Donald Brown and Carl Allen. And he's attracted the kind of adjectives ("searing," "blazing," "incendiary") that more often apply to four-alarm fires than to saxophone players.