The new albums from John Bailey and from pianist/accordionist Ben Rosenblum could stand in as bookends of a successful jazz career, the former a well-seasoned product of a canny and accomplished veteran, and the latter an intriguing and exuberant creation from a precocious young artist.
Two artists new to me, alto saxophonist Randal Despommier and pianist Chris Pattishall, bring it with their debut recordings as leaders. The soulful Despommier’s five originals and two covers offer a playlist of his life in multiple genres, while Pattishall recasts Mary Lou Williams’ Zodiac Suite in a faithful but near hallucinatory quintet-plus-one version.
