Three Tenors No Opera was my little way of mining years of playing commercial music, an attempt to spin straw into gold. The title of the CD, Deconstruction Ahead, was intended to indicate my intent of recasting the tunes I'd played over and over again at wedding receptions in Knights of Columbus halls, rotating them 90 degrees to see what might be done. It was also a chance to record some of the always-sublime compositions of Dave Tidball, and to experiment with the possibilities of a three-tenor-sax front line. We played at Pacifica Performances and at Jazz on the Hill (my last saxophone gig, in fact).

The CD came out on SeaBreeze records and received radio promotion by Linda Romano. We got up to #47 on the jazz charts for a hot minute in 2002. The CD is still available on-line, as far as I know. If you can't find it anywhere else, I'd be delighted to sell you a copy!

Here's what Cadence magazine said:

"The title and credits are misleading in that they imply a humorous approach to the music, when in fact this is a serious imaginative recording. You might be surprised to see that a 6/8 Afro-Cuban treatment for “Tequila,” a mambo beat for “Pink Panther,” and waltz meter for “Four Brothers” can actually work without becoming parody. But if you didn’t know the original versions, you’d never suspect they were meant to be any different. Bob Mover’s “Night Dance,” with its helter-skelter scampering and comic quotes is quite funny but then it’s intended to be. But some of the arrangements, such as Coltrane’s “Naima” and Wayne Shorter’s “Rio,” “our gesture of respect for two of the great tenor player-composers,” are treated conventionally and with great reverence. And tenorist Dave Tidball’s three charts exemplify the hip contemporary tune, with the slow groove “Sunset Strut” being an interesting variant of the blues form
Although one might expect the three tenors to line up for choruses on each track, that’s not the case at all. As if to drive home the point that the purpose of the instrumentation is essentially an ensemble one, there’s not even one tenor solo on “Pink Panther,” which, in Henry Mancini’s original form, was a feature for that instrument. But when they do play, they and their rhythm section cohorts perform with confidence and professionalism in a mainstream modern idiom."
-- David Franklin

and, closer to my heart, here's what Boots Randolph said:

"At this moment I'm listening to your CD, Three Tenors, No Opera. Well it's very good, even great, I love it. I wish I could play that good. And really cool charts, nice stuff. Reminds me of my good old days. That took a lot of time and effort. Keep up the good work. Jazz is my first love. I love to play anything as long as its good music. Thanks again."
-- Boots Randolph

More feedback:

"Great production, great playing. I love the way you reinvent the tradition -- Tequila! Rio! -- without resorting to bizarre backflips just to be hip. Perfectly titled: deconstruction indeed. To me, the best part is that the music is reconstructed according to classic principles. You would make Mingus proud. Very natural and swinging. Big ups to Wayne Wallace and the rest of the crew."

--Ben Sidran, jazz pianist/singer, producer

"I enjoyed your CD. It is obvious to me that you all put considerable effort into creating it. Ensembles were well played and arranging formats were quite interesting. I liked your treatment of ‘Three (Four) Brothers’ and ‘Naima’. Programming for the CD was thoughtfully conceived and ‘Sunset Strut’ was a nice relaxed way of bringing your CD to a fitting close. I wish you good luck with it."

--John LaPorta, tenor sax with Woody Herman, Charles Mingus, Berklee College of Music professor emeritus

"I found the re-arrangements quite engaging and contemporary and the playing first class. The recorded sound is excellent as well. ...The blowing was swinging. Congrats and best luck with the CD!"

-- Gordon Brisker, tenor saxophonist extraordinaire

"I LOVED IT--great to float down highway 5 to...and float OVER, UNDER and IN THE CRACKS of highway 5 as the album took me a couple times...and being one who adores jazz with a sense of humor-it hit my G spot, G[u]ffaw...a lot!"

-- Alisa Clancy, KCSM-FM 91.1 San Mateo

"Three Tenors, No Opera bridges the world of swing jazz and contemporary bop. ‘Three Brothers,’ a riff on Jimmy Giuffre's tune ‘Four Brothers,’ reminds me of a raucous Saturday night at a 1940s dance hall. "Sunset Strut" takes you on a swinging walk down memory lane."

-- Reese Erlich, Jazz Perspectives

"...a very hip new release out by a trio of San Francisco Bay Area tenor sax players. The group is called "Three Tenors No Opera" and they make some pretty remarkable music. "DECONSTRUCTION AHEAD" features a rich, full, musically adventurous sound...These guys know how to play. They hit a Barry Bonds to McCovey Cove style home run on this one. "

-- Jim Clark, host of “Jazz Nightly” on South Dakota Public Radio

"My pleasure to play the disc. It is original and fresh...our audience digs it also. Looking forward to future releases."

-- Russell Haines, WWSP Jazz Music CoDirector

"I can't tell you how much listeners like myself are enjoying the Three Tenors record. Can't wait for the next one!"

-- Eric Cohen, WAER Jazz 88, Gavin 2001 Jazz Programmer of the Year