About
Matt Zebley takes the opening three-chorus alto saxophone solo on his own composition "Free Radicals," a hard-swinging up-tempo vehicle from his 1998 concert recording Live at Moondog. At approximately 220 BPM, the 36-bar AABA form in F minor provides a bracing harmonic framework, and Zebley's lines combine the bebop vocabulary's rhythmic precision with a contemporary harmonic sensibility. As the first of three horn soloists ahead of Ron Stout and Alan Ferber, his three-chorus statement establishes the fierce energy that makes this one of the most exciting tracks on the album. The tune's title suggests scientific unpredictability, an apt metaphor for the creative chemistry among the three horn players.
Matt Zebley was 26 to 27 years old at the time.
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