Taking the tradition to the next level, or did someone miss the offramp?
Alto saxist Mike Monford performs in concert with Pam Wise/p-key, William Hill III/key, Jaribu Shahid/b, Tapiz Gardner/drd, Kevin Jones/perc, Allen Dennard/p, Calvin Taylor/ts, Bebe Sewell/vi, Xavier Gillium/vi and guest MC Napi Devi for adventurous and exciting post bop sounds. A take of Lee M organ’s “Exotique C” has Dennard in thrilling blues form with the leader, while some shrieking by the alto saxist attacks his own “ Jah Jah” and gets hip on the jiving read of “Jacksotone”. The strings add to the drama of a riveting read of “Throw It Away” and there’s a suave Latin feel on Monford’s own “Piercing Eyes”. Energy in sound.
Dave Douglas brings together drummer Ian Chang, guitarist Rafiq Bhatia and tenor saxist James Brandon Lewis for a collection of originals and 
wildly re-arranged Billy Strayhorn compositions. Of the latter, “Take The A Train” is loose and undulating, “Day Dream” gets hit hard by Chang’s drums while “Blood Count” glistens from Douglas’ horn. There’s a lot of space effects on the original “Gifts” and edgy agitation on ”Goodbyes” with few things resolved on the bluesy “Kind of Teal”. Not exactly form fitting.
Nicola Caminiti plays alto and soprano saxes with a freebopping team of Lex Korten/p, Ben Tiberio/b and Miguel Russell/dr on a collection of originals. Caminiti’s soprano is dramatic on the rubato’d “Warmer Cold War” and sweet for “Crowded Solitude”. He has a lovely lilt with Korten on “A Fully Blank Canvas” and asserts himself for “Elliptical Biking”, gentle and fragrant for “Farewell Too Soon”. Korten provides a lovely serenade on “Worlds of Equality” and Tiberio leads the way on “Just Find A Reason To”, with the band working well as a cohesive unit.
Drummer and composer Willie Rodriguez brings together a left of center team of Jason Palmer/tp, Henry Paz/ts, Leo Genovese/p, John Hebert-Kenneth Jimenez/b and guest Dave Liebman/ss for a mix of originals and covers. Liebman veers through the traffic jam of “Guani” and is radiant with Genovese on “The Infinity Of Your Love”. The horns sustain the rubatto with Paz hitting Coltrane territory on “Beyond The Struggle” with the leader nimble on the sticks for “Roy’s Masterplan”. Open field running.