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Quite a compelling project from trumpeter Dave Douglas – a record that has him working strongly with singer/guitarist Aoife O'Donovan, whose presence really helps transform the sound of the set! Aoife's got a folksy touch on her vocals, and colors things in with some great earthy tones that are a surprisingly good fit for Douglas' lines on trumpet – sometimes jazzy, sometimes sparkling with a rich sense of American history – yet delivered in a subtle, linear way. The blend works a lot better than it sounds on paper – thanks to help from other musicians who include Jon Irabagon on tenor, Matt Mitchell on piano, Linda Oh on bass, and Rudy Royston on drums. Titles include "Barbara Allen", "Living Streams", "Be Still My Soul", "High On A Mountain", "God Be With You", and "This Is My Father's World".

Bassist Linda Oh's really finding her voice here – a fresh, inventive approach to small combo work that bristles with energy right from the start! Oh's got a bold style of handling her instrument – especially the acoustic variant – in a way that means that even the gentler moments have a nice sort of punch – a quality that might, by some, be dubbed as a touch of funk in the bass – even though the use of the instrument here is far more jazz, and in a way that makes for so many rich colors from just a small amount of sound! The group is nicely compact – with Danya Stephens on tenor, and Fabian Almazan on piano and Fender Rhodes – and in addition to her own bass, Oh plays some bassoon – and gets some on the money drum help from Rudy Royston. Titles include "Little House", "Thicker Than Water", "Something's Coming/Les Cinq Doigts", "Ultimate Persona", "Mr M", and "No 1 Hit".

A beautiful little record from Matt Ulery – double-length in size, and even more than double in terms of feeling and depth! Matt's a figure on the Chicago scene – and in a way, his music represents the return to arrangements in the city's recent avant jazz world – yet his music is also even more compellingly concise, and handled with a strong ear towards thoughtful, tuneful compositions that have fluid, expressive feel – hardly outside at all, although always with an edge – and handled with a soundtrack-like sense of color and scene. In a way, there's almost a Kip Hanrahan sort of vibe to the music – especially in the way it goes way past familiar jazz – especially on the few vocals numbers, which feature lyrics sung by the lovely Grazyna Agusick. Other musicians include Ulery on bass, Ben Lewis on piano, Zach Brock on violin, James Davis on trumpet, Matthew Duval on vibes, and Jon Deitmeyer on drums. Titles include "Dark Harvest", "Processional", "By A Little Light", "To Lose Your Mind", "Wilder Years", "Sow The Deep Seeds", and "To The Brim".

One of the best albums we've heard in years from trumpeter Dave Douglas – a really in the pocket session that's filled with rhythmic intensity, and some of the boldest music we've heard from Dave in years! There's plenty of edges to the set – especially the trumpet of Douglas and tenor of Jon Irabgon – but there's also a groove to many numbers too – a kind of forward-rolling energy that really takes the whole thing to great points throughout the set, and which makes a great progression from the somber tone of Dave's last album – almost a musical rebirth of sorts! Crack rhythms flow from the trio of Matt Mitchell on piano, Linda Oh on bass, and Rudy Royston on drums – and titles include "Time Travel", "Beware Of Doug", "Little Feet", "Garden State", and "Bridge To Nowhere".

No gravity here – in fact, quite the reverse, as gravity almost seems suspended in the way these guys work together with a beautifully fluid vibe! The tenor of Donny McCaslin's very firmly in the lead on the set – sometimes amidst spare instrumentation, often standing as the prow of the quartet's rhythmic progression – sounds that stem from the keyboards of Jason Linder, bass of Tim Lefebvre, and drums of Mark Guiliana. Things are sometimes spacey, sometimes a bit more forceful – and always a clear expression of McCaslin's unique musical vision. Titles include "Says Who", "Stadium Jazz", "Love Song For An Echo", "Praia Grande", and "Alpha & Omega".

Quite a compelling project from trumpeter Dave Douglas – a record that has him working strongly with singer/guitarist Aoife O'Donovan, whose presence really helps transform the sound of the set! Aoife's got a folksy touch on her vocals, and colors things in with some great earthy tones that are a surprisingly good fit for Douglas' lines on trumpet – sometimes jazzy, sometimes sparkling with a rich sense of American history – yet delivered in a subtle, linear way. The blend works a lot better than it sounds on paper – thanks to help from other musicians who include Jon Irabagon on tenor, Matt Mitchell on piano, Linda Oh on bass, and Rudy Royston on drums. Titles include "Barbara Allen", "Living Streams", "Be Still My Soul", "High On A Mountain", "God Be With You", and "This Is My Father's World".

No gravity here – in fact, quite the reverse, as gravity almost seems suspended in the way these guys work together with a beautifully fluid vibe! The tenor of Donny McCaslin's very firmly in the lead on the set – sometimes amidst spare instrumentation, often standing as the prow of the quartet's rhythmic progression – sounds that stem from the keyboards of Jason Linder, bass of Tim Lefebvre, and drums of Mark Guiliana. Things are sometimes spacey, sometimes a bit more forceful – and always a clear expression of McCaslin's unique musical vision. Titles include "Says Who", "Stadium Jazz", "Love Song For An Echo", "Praia Grande", and "Alpha & Omega".

A pair of great albums from Dave Douglas – laid out here in a single package! Magic Triangle is a killer set from the Dave Douglas Quartet – a very unified sound from the lineup that features Douglas on trumpet, Chris Potter on tenor, James Genus on bass, and Ben Perowsky on drums! Working here without any piano, the four have a way of folding into a groove together beautifully – really layering their sound, and coming up with something wonderful – as full of tone and texture as Douglas' more laidback recordings, but handled with a rhythmic pulse that really sends the whole thing soaring! Titles include "Everyman", "Magic Triangle", "Padded Cell", "Circular", "Coaster", "Barrage", "The Ghost", and "Kisangi". Leap Of Faith is filled with bold lines from this great late 90s group – handled in a way that's both rhythmic, yet freed from its obvious constraints – with energy that almost takes us back to Ornette Coleman at the start of the 60s! The quartet features some wonderful interplay between trumpeter Dave Douglas and tenorist Chris Potter – but gets almost as much punch on the top end from bassist James Genus and drummer Ben Perowsky – each of whom burst forth brilliantly throughout. Titles include "Emmenthaler", "Millenium Bug", "Another Country", "Leap Of Faith", "Caterwaul", and "Euro Disney".

A really cool collection that's got way more to offer than you might guess from the Italo in the title – as the set's filled with obscure funk, jazz, and sound library gems from the 70s! Usually, we associate Italo with Italo Disco – that 80s version of club music that broke big around the world in many scenes. But the tracks here are sort of the "roots" of that version of Italo – the funky experiments of a generation before – which were often inspired by American jazz and soul of the time, but took things into a whole new dimension – thanks to the wide range of creative instrumentalists and unusual studios in Italy during the 70s! A few names are familiar here, and others are composers you might know from soundtracks – but together, the vibe is something else entirely – and something entirely great, thanks to wicked work from Big Bang/Arision Records, who put together the whole thing. Titles include "Aflogelia" by Narassa, "Open Space" by Piero Umiliani, "L'Eroe Di Plastica" by Tony Esposito, "Ore 24" by Alberto Baldan Bembo, "Pearls" by Piero Piccioni, "Five, Four, & Three" by Lee Konitz, "Lavoro Veloce" by Farlocco, "Louisville" by Made In USA, "Depressione" by Jazz Video, "Tip Cat" by Santucci Scoppa, and "Greenleaf Street" by Max Rocci & His Friends.