Drummer Donald Edwards delivers a varied collection here with modern artists Walter Smith III/ts, David Gilmore/g, Orrin Evans/p and Luques Curtis/b. Both in composition and performance, he reveals his allegiance to the tradition with lithely suave read of the classic “Stablemates” which includes Smith’s velvety tenor. On the medium tempo’d “Incantation,” the leader mixes the comfortable sounds of Smith’s tenor with a spicy dash of Gilmore’s sandied guitar, creating an interesting tension in the mix.
While keeping with the tradition, in both composing and performance, he likes to add dashes of modernity as well. Nicolas Payton brings in some keyboards along for a trio of cameo hip hopped pieces, one with Vivian Sessoms’ voice, as well as opening the album with a moody rubato. Most successful is when Sessom’s recites a poem along with rich and yearning solos by Gilmore, Evans and Smith on an alluring “Way To Her” while the three do some muscular work with Edwards at the reigns on the modal “Beautiful Intuition.” Most of the tunes are penned by the leader, with the closing “Prelude To Real Life” displaying a rich approach to ballads, as guest trumpeter Antoine Drye teams up with Gilmore’s acoustic guitar and Smith’s tenor for a rich mixture of sounds melding together. Very strong outing.
Criss Cross Records