Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » Chad Eby Quartet: The Sweet Shel Suite

Chad Eby Quartet: The Sweet Shel Suite

By Mark Corroto
December 18, 2014
View read count

Reading poet Shel Silverstein's The Giving Tree once again as an adult, it is improbable that one would take away the same message as you did reading the book as a child. The boy in the story grows up playing in the branches of the tree and eating its fruit, eventually cutting the trunk for wood. In the end, the giving tree has nothing left to give, except for a stump to sit on. Is the book about unselfish friendship, or man's eco-terrorism? Is it counterpart to Siddhartha and unconditional love? The answer of course is yes, yes, and yes.

Saxophonist

Chad Eby

saxophone
b.1973

" data-original-title="" title="">Chad Eby wrote the nine compositions for The Sweet Shel Suite, a tribute to Silverstein. The music, like the author's children's poetry, might have a different meaning for the adult listener. Eby utilizes the meter and pace of the poet's writing (without the words) to build a heartfelt tribute.

Silverstein's poetry put to music, like Jack Kerouac reading with Al Cohn and

Zoot Sims

saxophone, tenor
1925 - 1985

" data-original-title="" title="">Zoot Sims, emphasizes Silverstein's images. The wackiness of "Ickle Me, Pickle Me, Tickle Me, Too" passes through multiple time signatures fusing a child's rhyme with bebop. Eby's quartet of trumpeter

Brandon Lee

trumpet
b.1983

" data-original-title="" title="">Brandon Lee, bassist

Steve Haines

bass, acoustic
b.1971

" data-original-title="" title="">Steve Haines, and drummer Daniel Faust chases the tongue-twisting music through its playful switches and swipes, making the complicated seem simple. Just as children were probably faster to adopt the coltish sounds of

Ornette Coleman

saxophone, alto
1930 - 2015

" data-original-title="" title="">Ornette Coleman's music in 1959, Eby's "Falling Up" and "Masks" shadow the trumpet interplay of Coleman and

Don Cherry

trumpet
1936 - 1995

" data-original-title="" title="">Don Cherry with "Falling Up" juxtaposing of the song's chords and melody. Eby works under the pretense of naivete, only to reveal the hip worldliness of this music.

The urgency of "Ourchestra" recalls the grand Blue Note experiments of the 1960s with its muscular musical workout, Eby and Lee facing off like

Joe Henderson

saxophone
1937 - 2001

" data-original-title="" title="">Joe Henderson and

Lee Morgan

trumpet
1938 - 1972

" data-original-title="" title="">Lee Morgan. The music begins with children's rhymes, but burns scorchingly hot. Same for "The Dance of the Shoes" with Eby switching to soprano saxophone and Lee with trumpet mute. Daniel Foust's brush work simulates a tap dancer's frizzled moves as the piece sprints to its conclusion. Changing gears, his heartfelt composition "Years From Now, When I'm Gone" opens with a doleful bass solo and its ineffable melody is beautifully performed and obligingly satisfying.

Learn more about our star rating system

Track Listing

Lester (The Wish-Waster); The Long Haired Boy; Ourchestra; Years From Now, When I'm Gone; Ickle Me, Pickle Me, Tickle Me, Too; Masks; Falling Up; The Clock Man; The Dance of the Shoes.

Personnel

Chad Eby

saxophone

Chad Eby: saxophones; Brandon Lee: trumpet; Steve Haines: bass; Daniel Foust: drums.

Album information

Title: The Sweet Shel Suite | Year Released: 2014 | Record Label: Self Produced

PREVIOUS / NEXT

Arise
< Previous

Troy Collins' Best Releases of 2014
Next >

Support All About Jazz

All About Jazz has been a pillar of jazz since 1995, championing it as an art form and, more importantly, supporting the musicians who make it. Our enduring commitment has made "AAJ" one of the most culturally important websites of its kind, read by hundreds of thousands of fans, musicians and industry figures every month.

Go Ad Free!

To maintain our platform while developing new means to foster jazz discovery and connectivity, we need your help. You can become a sustaining member for as little as $20 and in return, we'll immediately hide those pesky ads plus provide access to future articles for a full year. This winning combination vastly improves your AAJ experience and allow us to vigorously build on the pioneering work we first started in 1995. So enjoy an ad-free AAJ experience and help us remain a positive beacon for jazz by making a donation today.