Im·pro·vise Never Before Seen

Im·pro·vise Never Before Seen

While trumpeter Sean Jones left The Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra in 2010, he certainly still remembers his history—but now he seems intent on making some on his own. He’s joined and pushed along by his excellent longtime rhythm section (pianist Orrin Evans, bassist Luques Curtis, and drummer Obed Calvaire), who have the same kind of combustible chemistry as Miles Davis’ second great quintet—established roles for rhythm, harmony, and melody shift to suite the material, and the songwriting rarely adheres to the head-solo-head jazz template. “60th & Broadway,” for example, opens with a minute-long stretch of trumpet and drums before the other two join and shift the song into gear. The noir-ish “Dark Times” offers a moody pathos, while the oddly metered and occasionally discordant “Interior Motive” is both edgy and sensuous. Adding some earthiness to the proceedings, Jones includes “I Don’t Give a Damn Blues,” a loose blues that features some of his most rewarding playing. Elsewhere, a wonderfully revamped “How High the Moon” shows he’s not afraid of messing with a standard.

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