Leader and trumpet/flugelhorn player Gabriel Alegria puts a positive attitude toward the draconian COVID lockdown with a ten song suite on this encouraging release. His core band of Laura Andrea Leguia, Hugo Alcazar, Freddy Lobaton, Yuri Juarez and Mario Cuba is joined by special guests Russell Ferrante, Jocho Velazquez and Kitty O’Meara for a plea for hope. Cuba’s “And The People Stayed Home” bookends the album in English and Spanish with rich poetry and rich horn work, while Leguia’s soprano sax sears through the agonizing “Amaranta” and soulful “Any Day Now”. The center piece is a four part “Social Distancing” opus that includes chanting voices, aggressive percussion and pleading horn work by Alegria and Leguia. Guest poet O’Meara and vocalist Velasquez deliver messages of how to survive and grow during the crazy times, and Ferrante’s piano and keyboards add rich textures to the avalanche of rhythms. Hope springs eternal here.