CD: Alternate Summer

Trumpeter, bandleader, composer and arranger Tom Harrell earned rave reviews for his album Oak Tree from 2022. Now he presents another ambitious album that is hard to resist and once again consists entirely of his remarkable original compositions. Harrell is held in the highest regard, not because he plays loud, fast or high, but rather because of his extraordinary talent for crafting ravishingly beautiful earworms with a wonderfully expressive tone and depth. He is also an exceptionally good arranger, creating scores with an attention to detail and inevitability that is unique in jazz.
With Venezuelan-born pianist Luis Perdomo, the tenor saxophones of Danya Stephens and Mark Turner, the guitar of Charles Altura and his regular collaborators, German-Nigerian bassist Ugonna Okegwo and American drummer Adam Cruz, Harrell and his partners accentuate the compositions' diverse musical influences with a versatility that illustrates their collective strength.