Eddie Daniels - Breakthrough (1986)

I saw this CD in the used bin and thought to myself, "Hey! I remember a college friend having that CD back in '86 and there was a piece on it that caught my ear at the time. 25¢? I'll take it!" Turns out the clarinetist I was thinking of was Richard Stoltzman, the album was titled New York Counterpoint, and the piece I was remembering is titled Feast. So while both New York Counterpoint and Breakthrough are third stream releases featuring clarinet, both released in 1986, I'm left with this CD I've never heard before that I bought for purposes of nostalgia. Shrug.

blurbs from the liner notes

There's no denying the technical skills on display here, but if the "bastardized Bach" music doesn't hold interest, virtuosity doesn't really matter.

Reviews/ratings:

• Stereo Review: "Sad to say, there's a market for it."
• CashBox: "surprisingly successful"
• The Virgin Encyclopedia of Jazz (1999): ★★★

Album chart peaks:

• US Billboard 200: Did not chart
• CashBox Jazz: #25
• Radio & Records Jazz Radio National Airplay: #1

Tracks:

If I was pressed to pick a favorite, I'd go with the Daniels original, Circle Dance. The remainder reminds me of expertly performed, fairly generic film soundtrack music.

Personal Memory Associated with this CD: see above