Latest releases reviewed

JEREMY UDDEN
Torchsongs
Fresh Sound
****
On this absorbing album, Udden, a distinctive soprano and alto saxophonist with a gorgeous tone and a subtly personal lyricism, leads two separate groups: a quartet with Ben Monder (guitar), John Lockwood (bass) and Matt Wilson (drums), and a quintet of younger players including Leo Genovese (rhodes). On a programme mostly of his attractive originals, Udden ranges from the linear grace of Keith Jarrett-like songs, through equally melodic jazz/rock to some very focused free playing. Somehow, despite his gentle approach, his sheer musical presence imposes a kind of unity on what emerges. With all involved playing well, particularly Monder and Wilson, and trombonist Bob Brookmeyer guesting on two tracks, Udden lays down a marker as a player who deserves to be much better known. www.freshsoundrecords.com

ERIC REED
Here
MaxJazz
***
Working mainly within established conventions, Reed is such a consistent performer that he's a bit taken for granted. But he is a superior player and, in a fine trio with Rodney Whitaker (bass) and Willie Jones III (drums), he shows again what an outstanding pianist he is. Thoughtful, pliable and responsive, he's equipped to go wherever his imagination or his colleagues take him. Examples abound in the inventive reworking of Golson's Stablemates; in Reed's ability, while remaining himself, to echo the quirky individuality of the late Herbie Nicholls on his own I.C.H.N.; in capturing some of the creative urgency of Coltrane on the master's uptempo 26-2; and in the affecting delicacy of his playing in Wish (For My Father). And, as on his Ornate, he can sustain a sense of discovery and unity even at length. www.maxjazz.com

STEFANO CANTINI/RITA MARCOTULLI
L'amico del vento
EGEA
***
Soprano and tenor saxophonist Cantini and pianist Marcotulli are beautifully polished players and, in a context as stylish as anything by Gucci or Armani, they give free rein to a sunny, heart-on-sleeve Mediterranean romanticism. With just a bassist, Raffaello Pareti, and a string quartet to support their musings, their work is enhanced by the deft arrangements of Mauro Grossi, while the compositions, all but two by the trio and Grossi, have an undeniably melodic character of their own. Some might dismiss it as mood music, but it has a little more substance than that. Nevertheless, when soprano and piano duet on the set's only standard, Brubeck's lovely In Your Own Sweet Way, the music has a bite less evident elsewhere. www.egearecords.it