Here’s a walk off home run of a disc. I’ve never heard anything about this young guy who plays the trumpet and flugelhorn. Josh Shpak wrote almost all of the material here on this collection of six songs, and along with Simon Moullier/vib, Lucas Del Calvo/g, Kyumin Shim/p, Aaron Liao/b and P atrick Simard/dr, he delivers a fascinatingly original, cohesive and explorative-yet-accessible mix of sounds and songs that is both adventurous, sophisticated and completely accessible. Shpak’s tone is warm and rich, and he uses it as a contrast and foil on pieces such as the highly clever “The Vibe” and the ESP-ish “From Different Places” with Shim’s chiming piano. A string section joins in for the remaining songs, with a fascinating mix of chromatic harp, strings and rhythm on “Weapons” while a gentle “Requiem” leads into a thoughtful and ruminating “Not Just Yet.” The various segues, direction changes and layers of instruments leads to a rewarding time spent. Look high and low for this one!
Interrobang Records