Composer and pianist Teri Parker leads a post bop quintet, rotating alto saxists Allison Au and Alison Young with the core of Rebecca Hennessy/tp, Lauren Falls/b and Mackenzie Longpre/dr. The album also features compositions of two important female pianists in Geri Allen and Mary Lou Williams, as the team shows it can get down with the blues as Au and Hennessy belt it out on the latter’s “Rosa Ma” while the two get soft and pastoral with the leader on Allen’s muted “Unconditional Love”. Young taps into her inner Maceo Parker as she gets funky with Longpre on “Gemini II” and is equally melancholic around Hennessy’s soft brass of the lyrical “Gemini II”. The leader is in rich stride on the full fisted shuffle of “Giantess” and gives pretty ripples on a pastoral “Bear Hug”
Nice panoramas and vistas.