Modern brass in various stages of polish…
Trumpeter Cyrus Nabipoor veers between macho Freddie Hubbard and elliptical Ted Curson on this post bop collection of originals with Brad Walker/ts, George Wilde/g, James Singleton/b and Brad Webb/dr. Some clever harmonies float over the rhythm teams moody pulse as Nabipoor is clean and shiny on “What Is This” while he ranges between melancholy and declaratory over Singleton’s bowed bass on “There Is A Light That Never Goes O ut” and the darkly cadenced “Pan’s Labyrinth Lullaby”. Wilde and Singleton dig dep on the nicely grooved “Spector” with Nabipoor delivering some Hub tones, and the team is samba sleek with a nimble Webb on “Cellmates”. The team shows it’s bop chops on the Monkish “NOK Blues” with Walker in rich form while the fun “Huckleberry Madness” sounds like a jazz version of “Everybody’s Talkin’”. Clever thoughts.
Trumpeter Walter White leads a large ensemble that includes fellow horn man Wayne Bergeron, saxists Ron Blake and Alex Foster and trombonist Conrad Herwig on a swinging read of standards and originals. The rhythm team of Jack Dryden/b, Graham/dr and Gary Schunk/p shuffle through a hip read of “Blue Rondo A La Turk” with Schunk and White hitting it right on the sweet spot. Rich and deep harmonies prevail on the funky take of “Nica’s Dream with percolating percussion provided by Pablo Batista, while Herbie Hancock’s “Cantaloupe Island” is a soul grooved fest. The sax section is spiffy on “The Way You Look Tonight” with the brass in a cheerful tone for White’s own “Portus Apostoli”. The beat goes on here.