Fred Anderson's reputation as one of the premier creative improvising saxophonists is well deserved, but his strengths as a formidable and able player of modern mainstream jazz should not go overlooked. STAYING IN THE GAME, a trio recording with bassist Harrison Bankhead and drummer Tim Daisy, is easily accessible to both camps. A studio session done in his native Chicago, its straight-ahead nature makes compelling comparisons to another peer and icon that made this type of recording 50 years prior, Sonny Rollins. The fluid nature of Anderson's elongated solos and inexhaustible ideas fare well alongside those of Rollins, and considering his advanced age are as fresh as any in the business. Bankhead and Daisy are very supportive, never getting in the way and using their own good common sense in swinging these pieces along.|
Rovi