JAZZ ALBUM REVIEW : Eric Marienthal’s Talent Gets Lost in Musical Mix

**1/2Eric Marienthal “One Touch”

GRP Orange County resident Eric Marienthal has some of the most exuberant saxophone manners of anyone playing contemporary jazz. His work, whether with Chick Corea, David Benoit or on his own recordings (now numbering five), is always lively and invigorating.

That’s why it’s sad to report that this album doesn’t quite live up to the promise. Oh, sure, there are plenty of fine examples of Marienthal’s enthusiasm, especially on alto, framed by backbeat and synthesizer splash. But one is left wanting to hear the saxophonist in a more varied setting.

The disc’s 10 tunes break roughly into three groups, delineated by its three principle guests: keyboardists Jeff Lorber, Russell Ferrante and David Benoit. Along with adding their musical skills, the three also contribute composing efforts, often in collaboration with the saxophonist.

The least attractive numbers are those done with Lorber, six in all including the Dave Koz tune, “That’s The Way,” which includes Lorber on synthesizers and sequencers.

Accessibly melodic and rhythmically predictable, such numbers as “Ouch,” “Backtalk” and “No Doubt About It” don’t do enough to challenge the session’s leader.

Lorber and Koz were both involved with “Walk Through Fire,” a pleasant-enough electric anthem featuring vocalist Carl Anderson that generates little heat.

Better are the numbers written by or in collaboration with Yellowjackets keyboardist Ferrante.

Ferrante can be as funky as Lorber, as he is on the James Brown tribute, “One For James” (with Marienthal’s gutsy baritone punctuation). He also has a more sensitive side, which he shows on “Tanto Amor,” a collaboration with Brazilian singer-composer Ivan Lins, who brings sultry vocal touches to the bossa-paced ballad. The chameleon-like rhythms of Ferrante’s “The Village” give sufficient turns for the saxophonist to navigate.

The third group consists of a single tune written by Benoit and Marienthal, “Where Are You,” a number perfectly suited for WAVE-styled or soft-jazz radio stations. The saxophonist uses the piece’s deliberate introduction to develop a web of ethereal soprano lines, before the tune gradually builds in volume and emotion into the kind of triumphant resolution that Benoit has been writing for years.

Though Marienthal acquits himself well no matter which format he plays in, we’re left thinking that he still has more to show. Maybe the problem is one of too many cooks contributing to this fusion stew.

It may be that until Marienthal loses the collaborators and starts composing his own material his talent, at least on record, will only be half-realized.