Drummer Matt Kane, unlike our president, does an excellent job of “leading from behind” on his winning collection of post bop piece. He brings together a muscular team of Ben Leifer/b, Andrew Ouelletete/p, Michael Shults/as, Hermon Mehari/tp and Steve Lambert/ts to make you feel like you’re listening to an updated read of Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers. The front line struts to attention with Kane’s crisp stick work on the pulsating “In Case You Missed It” with Ouellette’s piano work doing wonders on the bopping “The Burning Sand.” Mehari’s trumpet is crystal clear on “Wheel Within A Wheel” while Lambert’s tenor is gentle and warm as he accompanies the leader’s moody mallets on “And The Beauty Of It All.” The band gets folksy with Pat Metheny’s “Midwestern Nights” as Leifer contributes a gentle ripple of support, and the band has a ton of fun as Kane shuffles away the blues like a poker player on Elvin Jones’ “Timeline.”
This band keeps the grooves as tight as a hipster’s blue jeans.