What are you streaming tonight?

Takes repeated listens for things to sink in. These first 2 Eastern Rebellion albums are starting to click...some tracks more than others.

It’s interesting to compare tenor sax players on the two albums. I’d post to jazz aficionados for input from Frogman and others but they seem to be involved in a debate about essential elements of Latin music. Don’t want to interrupt.

Eastern Rebellion vol 1; 5/4 Thing (track 3)
George Coleman - Tenor Sax
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2wgC2x0C6cs

Eastern Rebellion vol 2; Clockwise (track 5)
Bob Berg - Tenor Sax (solo starts at 2:07)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x_WXC11uvY0

Two great and favorite records. Two great tenor players and as different as they are great. Interesting to compare indeed.

First, one has to consider that they are (sadly, “were” in the case of the younger Berg) about twenty years apart in age. Coleman was earning his stripes during the heyday of the bebop era. He started on alto saxophone and, no surprise, he credits Charlie Parker as his main early influence. He later switched to tenor. He is an extremely lyrical player and very much a traditionalist in overall concept having escaped the Coltrane tsunami that would shape, to one degree or another, the styles of almost every tenor player that came up from about the mid 1950s forward.

Two solos that come to mind as great examples of his lyricism:

https://youtu.be/hwmRQ0PBtXU

https://youtu.be/XdrAzpYdOYs

Bob Berg was undeniably and unabashedly a Coltrane disciple. Very expressive player with a much more aggressive tone concept that would sometimes sound to me like the horn was splitting at the seams. The Coltrane influence can also be heard in his more “outside” (the harmony) harmonic language and a much more angular shape to his improvised phrases; as compared to Coleman’s more linear and lyrical style. Like other “post-Coltrane“ players of his generation the influence of Fusion and Funk can be heard in some of his playing.

https://youtu.be/8DOh352DetI

https://youtu.be/jzcgAaWK5GM

@frogman 
Thank you very much.  What you wrote makes a lot of sense to my ear! 
I could hear the differences you described but lacked vocabulary (and technical training) to "verbalize" them.  Was tempted to describe Coleman (love his "5/4 Thing") as the more "refined" player but not sure that does justice to Berg as "Coltrane tsunami surfer".  I also did not even consider the difference in their ages/"eras".  Anyway, thanks again for taking time to comment and for posting the solo links.  Ciao.

The Chambers Brothers - "The Time Has Come" on Spotify.

Gerry Mulligan - The Complete Gerry Mulligan Meets Ben Webster Sessions
Radiohead - Kid A
Klaatu - 3:47 EST

All on Qobuz