Victor Noriega, piano; Willie Blair, bass; Eric Eagle, drums
Pianist Victor Noriega has independently released his 2002 trio recording entitled Stone's Throw with bassist Willie Blair and drummer Eric Eagle. Recorded in Washington state the CD has 8 originals plus David Raskin's "Laura" "The Bad and the Beautiful". There are no liner notes or publicity to let us know anything about these artists. Since it's independently released there is no record company although there is a website www.noriegamusic.com.
The trio play well together and obviously have been together for a long time. Noreiga is a competent composer and improviser but it ends there. He plays mechanically with no sense of dynamics or subtlety. Frankly, I listened 3 times to this recording and never made it through one song. The edgy and brittle recording makes things worse.
Sorry. Maybe his next release will better suit me, but you may like this one. After all this is only one experienced listener's and radio programmer's opinion.
by David Heymann
Jazz Now Interactive November 2004 Vol 14 No. 7 - Table of Contents
Copyright Jazz Now, November2004 issue, all rights reserved.
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