Dawning Fresh Sound New Talent****

New York altoist and composer Matteo Sabattini's leader debut is a beautifully crafted album, with Mike Moreno (guitar), Kristjan Randalu (piano), Matt Clohesy (bass) and an electrifying Obed Calvaire (drums). Sabattini combines warmth with a serene sense of studied engagement, and that duality shapes each performance. The interplay is markedly contrapuntal in character and there's a concern with balance and textural contrast as well as high energy. It's there in the radical overhaul of Estaté and a blues, Distensions, in the measured development of Prism, the drama of My Journeyand a lovely The Quiet Before Sunrise, where the group is joined by guitarist Lage Lund. This last track, incidentally, is transposed on the CD with a revamped The Nearness of You. This is a savoury encounter between European sensibility and New York edge. See freshsound records.com