Hailing from the forested northeast corner of Tennessee, tenor saxophonist Zoh Amba conjures a feeling of open space and possibility in her playing. She had a banner year in 2022 with not one but three albums, a triple debut of sorts. Bhakti is one of two (the other being O, Sun on John Zorn’s Tzadik label) to feature pianist Micah Thomas, whose versatility and creative spark provide the ideal framework for Amba’s avant-garde explorations. Drummer Tyshawn Sorey completes the trio lineup on the first two Bhakti tracks, which find Amba moving from full-on intensity—in the mode of Albert Ayler, David S. Ware, and other free-jazz tenor influences—to a more meditative zone, revealing a reedy, lyrical sound that is more distinctly hers. The third track, adding guitarist Matt Hollenberg, opens with a tenor/guitar duo and eases (via Sorey) into a slow, hypnotic groove in the latter half, inspiring Thomas to new heights of harmonic invention.