The bar is set very high but if push were to come to shove we do prefer 2022's 12 Stars and the vin extraordinaire Tripwire to this latest from saxophonist Melissa Aldana. Original tune 'The Solitary Seeker,' however, is a former track of the week on marlbank so there be purple passages aplenty luckily me hearties more than the lurk and pounce of any passing dragons. A quintet album to shiver the timbres - the encantada formula is similar in terms of personnel. Because, with the Chilean, it's guitarist Lage Lund who co-produces the album with Aldana, pianist Fabian Almazan, bassist Pablo Menares and drummer Kush Abadey who is on the new slightly disappointing Ethan Iverson album Technically Acceptable - so apart from Almazan who comes in instead of Sullivan Fortner it's the same 12 Stars line-up. Maybe it just comes down to the fact we much prefer Fortner as a player among other factors in the sound. Pangs. The album also includes 6 new pieces by Aldana among the 8 originals with the title track dedicated to Wayne Shorter. Melissa Aldana, photo: Ebru Yildiz/Blue Note
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