David Binney: Welcome to Life

“Soldifolier” gets things started with a syncopated head nicely accented by Blade’s confident drumming, a platform for the unison saxophone lines and Taborn’s clever piano solo. His rhythmic piano phrase sets up the title track, punctuated by Rogers’ guitar, which makes effective use of dynamics and quoting snippets of the written music for extrapolation. The ambitious “Frez” has an extended form with several parts—the first is another offbeat feel, with Rogers throwing some nice licks, and in the second, the rhythm section locks into a tight, straight ahead rock feel with the horns soaring above. Taborn and Blade spice up the extended solos of Potter and Binney, who both take advantage of the disparate parts.

“Sintra” is another great vehicle for the rhythm section, while the out-chorus finds the horn players dancing around and completing each other’s lines, as Blade spurs them along. Rogers’ acoustic guitar introduces the subtle “Enchantress,” which also boasts a rare, but welcome, solo from Colley. The quick pace of “Ici” breaks down to an edgy free section, the jaggedness serving as an antidote to the more polished and tightly wound compositions dominating, that announces Binney as a forward-thinking composer, with the chops and supporting cast, to back it up.

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