Post bopping saxist Sergej Avanesov mixes his thick tenor sax with a flexible team of John Escreet/p-key, Boris Kozlov/b and Samvel Sarkisyan through 9 originals, one of them spotlighting his soprano stylings. Of the latter, the closing “ Yoonmi” is a lovely pastoral mood, while on tenor Avanesov likes to flex his modal muscles.
Escreet and Kozlov form a kinetic team on the angular “14” while getting tensile and tight on “A.” Most intriguing is the patient title track, which has the team using long spaces and pauses to create a gorgeous tension throughout the piece, while the soft “I Trust You” and calm “Dash” focus on the genteel mist of the tenor saxist’s tone. The team has fun on the quirky “Big Mike” and the arm wrestling match of “Short Memory” showing this guy being adept at the reed as well as the pen. Strong outing!