This picture was taken just a few miles down the road from Sonic Ranch, where A Not So Distant Pass was recorded.

This picture was taken just a few miles down the road from Sonic Ranch, where A Not So Distant Pass was recorded.

The official release date of A Not So Distant Pass is 15 September, 2014. As we hear from more people about the new CD, we will be adding their comments to this page.

Rob Alley – June, 2014

As a fellow trumpeter, I’ve always admired Eddie. His command of the instrument is astounding. Great flexibility, range, dynamics, etc. But most importantly, he uses these skills on the trumpet simply as a direct avenue for expressiveness. The instrument rarely gets in the way of what he has to say. Never have I heard this more evident in his playing than on this recording.

This disk [A Not So Distant Pass] is a mixture of pre-composed pieces—some written especially for this session—and five, as Eddie correctly calls them, “freely improvised” duos. This is the proper term for these duos. Because these pieces are not “free jazz”, they are freely expressed musical conversations; direct communication between himself and his partner in sound. Nowhere is the direct connection between these artists more evident than in these musical vignettes.

Don’t get me wrong, the pre-composed tunes are fantastic! Nods to Brazil, Coltrane, and Thad Jones, et al are beautiful and thrilling. And the traditional improvisations over the chord changes to these tunes are wonderful. But it’s the juxtaposition of these pre-composed pieces with the freely improvised selections that brings to light the magnificent communication and empathy within the quartet. The total package, if you will.

In any case, these sounds are beautiful to my ears, plain and simple. I don’t really even hear trumpet, or any other instrument for that matter. I just hear expression and communication. To paraphrase Miles: If you listen, they got ‘cha!

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