The rhythm team of bassist David Ambrosio and drummer Russ Meissner display their serendipity in a variety of settings with a rotating team of Loren Stillman/as, Matt Renzi/ts-eh, Leonard Thompson/p and Nate Radley/g.
The piano trio format displays an intimate charm on the deft “12th Street” while the fuller band on the bluesy title track allow Ambrosio to dig deep and Renzi to sigh with resignation. The team gets dreamy with Renzi’s English horn on the pastoral “Vibey 7” while the saxes get a bit frisky with Radley’s tensile guitar on “Permaculture.” The team shows it’s straightforward ability to flex its muscles as Stillman is rich and head on during “Hourglass” while he gets bright during his conversation with Radley and Ambrosio on “Hourglass.” Through it all, Meissner’s ability to direct traffic with the flick of a stick or brush is impressive, keeping the pulse moving forward, and knowing when to reign the mustangs in.