Art Edmaiston & Steve Hirsh: The Back 9

SELF-PRODUCED (RELEASED AUGUST 1, 2025)

Remember the old television show, Have Gun Will Travel? If they ever produce a show about drummer Steve Hirsh, they could easily call it Have Drums Will Travel. Over the past several years Hirsh has traveled to New York City, Baltimore, Virginia Beach and Minneapolis (to name a few) to record and perform with a variety of musicians, including William Parker, Chad Fowler, Eri Yamamoto and Daniel Carter, who share his passion for free improvisation. The Back 9 finds Hirsh in Memphis working with saxophonist Art Edmaiston, who moved to “Bluff City” in 1990 where he has performed with everyone from The Allman Brothers Band to Justin Timberlake. On The Back 9, Edmaiston gets an opportunity to blend his soulful and gritty Memphis sax style with the spontaneity of Hirsh’s rhythmic adventures. The results are seven freely improvised pieces that naturally flow as Edmaiston and Hirsh respond to each other’s musical ideas. On “Where Love Hides,” Hirsh reacts intuitively to Edmaiston’s use of space between his long lines and short bursts, both infused with his sense of blues. The folk-like melody of “Sea Pebbles” builds from a soft and flowing tenor line to more aggressive playing against Hirsh’s reactive and inspiring drumming. A brief call and response section on “Wandering There and Back” reinforces the fact that Hirsh and Edmaiston are different but equal. From the plaintive opening of “Cave Painting,” on which Edmaiston plays soprano, to his big, blues-drenched tenor sound on “Blues from the Back 9,” Edmaiston is the perfect foil and partner for Hirsh’s rhythmic mood shifts. One might describe their musical interactions as passive aggressive. At times, the music they create is thunderous. At other times it is serene. Regardless of the shifting moods, the music of The Back 9 is honest, natural and passionately performed. I can’t wait to see where Hirsh’s travels will take him next and who he will meet along the way!

BOTTOM LINE: The Back 9 is an ideal introduction to another side of saxophonist Art Edmaiston, who has been a mainstay in Memphis’ blues and pop music scene since 1990. It is alsoan excellent addition to drummer Steve Hirsh’s growing catalogue of music. Together, they explore extemporaneous playing in a way that feels natural, honest and always exciting.