This is the second release I’ve encountered from Leigh Pilzer, and I love her sense of teamwork as well as swinging creativity. She plays baritone and bass saxes (which is more felt than heard) and bass clarinet, putting together a mix and match team of Ally Hany Albrecht-Kenny Rittenhouse/tp, Mercedes Beckman-Tim Green/as, Amy K Bomet-Allyn Johnson/p, Frank Russo-Sherrie Maricle/d, Greg Holloway/perc and Amy Shook/b. She writes and arranges everything, and sometimes,like the best of leaders, is satisfied staying in the background and letting the rest of the team shine.
And shine it does, with some Ellingtonian themes swinging around Beckman’s alto work on “SKCC” and Johnson simmering with Holloway on “How Much Longer”. Pilzer’s baritone is silky rich for the laconic “Lin” and funky for “And Then It Happened, floating with Albrecht’s trumpet during the sleek “The Platinum Taxi”. The tricky charts get clever as the team rumbles on “Beatin’ The Odds” and get hip on “Waterkress”. There’s a team spirit here that draws you in. When’s she touring?