Light On: Tom Harrell

1. VA 2. Sky Life 3. Contrary Mary 4. Fountain 5. Nights At Catalonia 6. The Gronk 7. Architect Of Time 8. Bad Stuff 9. Blue Caribe 10. VA

On his HighNote debut, Tom Harrell reaffirms his supreme position in the world of jazz trumpeters, moving gracefully from atmospheric melodies floating atop gentle rhythms to funky modal workouts and densely-layered harmonic explorations. With such outstanding gifts as an instrumentalist it is sometimes easy to overlook the fact that Tom Harrell is firmly in the line of great jazz composers, stretching back to Morton, Ellington, Miles, Monk and others. Featuring his razor-sharp working quintet – Wayne Escoffery, Danny Grissett, Ugonna Okegwo and Johnathan Blake – Harrell & company combine complex compositions, seductive rhythms, advanced harmonic concepts, vibrant solos and sheer inspiration in an album which transcends the jazz idiom and is almost able to reach out and touch the human spirit.

Price: $24.98