Originally from South Korea, pianist Dabin Ryu displays the skills she’s honed from the likes of Carl Allen, Kurt Elling and Joanne Brackeen with an impressive post bop album. She teams with a core of Benjamin Young/b and Willis Edmundson/dr while mixing and matching horn players Fernando Farrarone/tp, Jack Kotze/tb, Nathan See-Joe Obadia/as, Boyce Griffith/ts, Jarod Apple/bs, vocalist Anthony Marsden and Kevin Scollins/g for her well crafted originals. With Scollins’ guitar, the team rocks on “I’ll Never Know” and Marsden adds wordless voice on the dreamy “Wall” that has the leader going from impressionistic to leading through a traffic jam of reeds.
Young’s bass leads into an assertive “We Will Meet Again” and the Edmundson has the tam get kinetic as the saxes get bright on “Suspicion” and swing on “Moon”. Ryu bops with delight as her fingers dance on the team effort of “Temple Run” and she shows her reflective side on the solemn solo excursion of “Moon”. Piano pleasures.