Young British alto saxist Samuel Eagles is a very fluent contemporary-bebop performer whose attractive pieces mix an agile bop sound with film-noirish atmospherics, and quick-change swaps between straight swing and Latin rhythms. His assurance and inventiveness are impressive at any tempo, from the long-note purrs accelerating to sleek double-time on the Cuban-influenced Remembering Myself, to the brittle melody and surging groove of The Place I Live, or the rapturous opening statements of We Were Meant to Be. Eagles and his equally fluent vibraphonist Ralph Wyld (a Royal Academy student of the excellent Jim Hart) are greatly assisted by a very creative rhythm section in bassist Fergus Ireland and drummer Eric Ford. Ford’s hi-hat snaps and fills, and the precision with which he plays complex patterns under reflective melodies, are constantly striking features of this engaging debut.
