A great one from drummer Rashied Ali – issued here on his own Survival label! Ali's perhaps best remembered for his spare backing behind Coltrane's solo sax on the record Interstellar Space – and we're tempted to say that there's a similar vibe going on here – as the record just features Ali on drums and percussion, and the great Frank Lowe on tenor, plus Japanese flute and a bit of percussion too. The approach is nice and open, in a loft jazz mode – and Frank blows with a rough-hewn emotion that brings a lot to the session, and which provides a good grounding for Ali's sometimes loose work on drums! The original album features one long improvisation – "Duo Exchange" – but it's expanded here by more than a full album's worth of bonus material, really great recordings that appear here for the first time ever, pressed up beautifully. ~ Dusty Groove
Saxophonist Will Vinson works here with a number of different players, in a number of different groupings – yet somehow the album's maybe one of his most personal and focused to date! Vinson's reed work is always a draw – but here, there's a very special quality – as the groups usually feature a pianist in the lead, and gentle rhythms behind – so that Will is carving out these lines of gentle soul that speak volumes with effortless ease – wonderfully expressive, but never in a way that's easy, sentimental, and wrapped around too-familiar modes – a beautiful set of statements by a player who's becoming one of the more distinct saxophone voices in jazz. Players include Sullivan Fortner, Gonzalo Rubalcaba, Fred Hersch, and Gerald Clayton on piano; Matt Penman, Matt Brewer, and Larry Grenadier on bass; and Billy Hart, Clarence Penn, and Obed Calvaire on drums. Titles include "Boogaloo", "Love Letters", "Banal Street", "That Happened", "The Way To You", "Oasis", "Cherry Time", and "I Am James Bond". ~ Dusty Groove
A sublime trio set from drummer Charles Rumback – a record that has us really appreciating the special touch the leader can bring to a date, as this album may also be one of the best that we've heard from pianist Jim Baker in years! Baker has this great way of sounding soulful and lyrical, yet also moving towards the freer side of his spectrum too – working with the subtle drums of Rumback and the careful bass of John Tate, all with energy that almost takes us back to the groundbreaking Three Waves album by Steve Kuhn – one of our favorite piano dates of all time, which is a hell of a compliment to Baker! The album has an open feel, but one that's also very careful too – not the spaciousness of an ECM record, and instead more intense, but in a very understated way. Brilliant throughout – with titles that include "Here & Now", "Hard Goodbye", "Foglights", "Burning Daylight", "Huh", and "Portrait Of Lorena". ~ Dusty Groove
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