In 1983, pianist Rich Harney released The Promise,
an LP that, for many years, stood as the definitive straight-ahead Austin jazz album.
What made this record so memorable was how well it crystallized the Austin scene
at that particular time, a scene largely centered around the now long-defunct club
Piggy's. It's taken a while, and times have certainly changed, but no album since
then has better captured the spirit of the local scene at a given moment than this
new one from saxman Haslanger and his esteemed colleagues. Kicks Are for Kids
is the leader's fourth release under his own name, and what becomes immediately apparent
is how he and his group -- pianist Fredrick Sanders, bassist Edwin Livingston, and
drummer J.J. Johnson -- have matured considerably as players in the two years since
their last recorded outing. They demonstrate a confidence, intuitive cohesion, and
innate feeling for the music that comes directly from having performed live together
consistently in local clubs for the past several years. They sound unmistakably like
a seasoned band rather than a soloist and his trio. Perhaps even more important from
an artist's standpoint is that Haslanger has departed from his penchant for mostly
standards and is, at last, recording his own outstanding compositions. Save for a
beautiful reading of an Ellington evergreen, "Just Squeeze Me," this is
an entire set of Haslanger originals, from the soulful groove of the title track
to the apparently impromptu exploration of "Free for Three." Trumpeter
Tito Carrillo and New Orleans patriarch Ellis Marsalis contribute along the way,
but this is primarily about the Elias Haslanger Quartet and how it has developed
into a potently swingin', first-rate ensemble.
4 stars -- Jay Trachtenberg
Heart Music
In 1983, pianist Rich Harney released The Promise,
an LP that, for many years, stood as the definitive straight-ahead Austin jazz album.
What made this record so memorable was how well it crystallized the Austin scene
at that particular time, a scene largely centered around the now long-defunct club
Piggy's. It's taken a while, and times have certainly changed, but no album since
then has better captured the spirit of the local scene at a given moment than this
new one from saxman Haslanger and his esteemed colleagues. Kicks Are for Kids
is the leader's fourth release under his own name, and what becomes immediately apparent
is how he and his group -- pianist Fredrick Sanders, bassist Edwin Livingston, and
drummer J.J. Johnson -- have matured considerably as players in the two years since
their last recorded outing. They demonstrate a confidence, intuitive cohesion, and
innate feeling for the music that comes directly from having performed live together
consistently in local clubs for the past several years. They sound unmistakably like
a seasoned band rather than a soloist and his trio. Perhaps even more important from
an artist's standpoint is that Haslanger has departed from his penchant for mostly
standards and is, at last, recording his own outstanding compositions. Save for a
beautiful reading of an Ellington evergreen, "Just Squeeze Me," this is
an entire set of Haslanger originals, from the soulful groove of the title track
to the apparently impromptu exploration of "Free for Three." Trumpeter
Tito Carrillo and New Orleans patriarch Ellis Marsalis contribute along the way,
but this is primarily about the Elias Haslanger Quartet and how it has developed
into a potently swingin', first-rate ensemble. 
