Trombonist Michael Pallas leads a team of Lomar Brown/as, Yeissonn Villamar/p, John Benitiez/b, Jonathan Barber/dr and Nelson Mathew Gonzalez/perc that features various aspects of the leader’s vision.
One one hand, Pallas and company are adept at melding rich harmonies and creating loping pulses as on a clever take of “Life On Mars”, with Brown sauntering over Benitiez and the leader bopping with Villamar on “El Boli”. There are also some souful grooves with Villamar’s chords on the rich “Beyond (The Gateway)” and a stirring Afro Cuban take of “Variant” all with the leader’s horn in vibrant form. Then, you have a couple head scratchers, with Ghazi Omair rapping out “Counterfeit Blues”, some urban R&B on a synthy “Next Exit” and an electronic pulse with effects during “Patent(s)”. A couple blips, but simply bumps on the highway.