JOE ALTERMAN featuring HOUSTON PERSON

BRISKET FOR BREAKFAST

Joe Alterman Music

Joe Alterman, piano; Houston Person, tenor saxophone; Kevin Smith, bass; Justin Chesarek, drums.

There is nothing better to start my New Year and my new day than with Houston Person blowing his silky-smooth saxophone sound, and Joe Alterman’s trio accompanying him. As I sip my coffee, I find great pleasure in this album.  They open with “The Second Time Around” and swing me into 2025 in the best kind of way.  The phrasing and melodic choices Houston Person makes are always perfectly soaked in the blues, and soulful like cornbread with pot-liquor.  This is a ‘live’ recording, and the people-applause says it all!

Joe Alterman is a delightful jazz pianist who swings stronger than Joe Louis, with punch and assurance.  The way he double times the beautiful ballad “That’s All,” trickles the blues into the mix, and builds the dynamics on his piano in absolutely genius ways.  I could listen to this quartet for hours and never get bored.

Alterman’s Atlanta-based trio, offers us seven well-played, familiar tunes including “Only Trust Your Heart,” “Never Let Me Go,” Namely You,” “Since I Fell for You” and the oldie but goodie, “You Are My Sunshine.”  Each one is delightfully arranged. These extraordinary musicians pull the best out of each familiar song.

Joe Alterman’s first music passions were bluegrass music and the blues. You can hear his blues roots shining through on every tune he plays.  What better pairing than to work with the great Houston Person?  He is a master of the blues on his saxophone.  When the younger pianist began to find interest in jazz, he listened to blues masters like Les McCann, Ramsey Lewis and the great Oscar Peterson. In fact, Alterman studied with and befriended Les McCann before McCann’s untimely passing. He also found a musical allegiance with the magnificent talents of Houston Person.

“Every time we’re on stage together,” Alterman says, “from the first note I hear I feel so lucky to be in the room with Houston, let alone playing with him. His sound makes me realize how great it is to be alive.”

Joe Alterman had been playing his piano along with recordings by Houston Person for a while before he finally got to meet his idol. In was in 2010, when Person gave a master class at NYU. Alterman made it a point to meet and greet the saxophonist, who soon after became his mentor.  Their chemistry together is not only evident, but also electrifying.

“Brisket for Breakfast” was recorded at a pair of concerts that took place in Georgia.  One was at the Breman Museum & Cultural Center in Atlanta.  The second recording happened a few weeks later at the Savannah Music Festival.  Alterman is in lockstep with his longtime trio, Kevin Smith on bass and drummer Justin Chesarek holding the tempo fast and steady. Every tune is a melt-in-your-mouth treat, soulful as a Southern breakfast, and just as delicious.

Reviewed by Dee Dee McNeil

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