The album closes with The Old Country, a song that Cannonball Adderly wrote for vocalist Nancy Wilson back in 1961. This is a nice, upbeat performance, and although the original tune wasn’t one of the strongest that Adderly ever wrote, Witzel again does wonders with it. In the context of Adderly’s soul jazz, Ho plays very well, but again it’s the leader who commands the most attention. Yet it is Nocturne No. 7 which sounds the most like one of his Cartas Celestas with its rumbling arpeggios and asymmetric, impressionistic melody line. In addition, No. 8 almost sounds like a continuation of No. 7, albeit with a different theme.
A visionary musician schooled in jazz and world music traditions, Gregory draws inspiration from avant-garde composers of the 20th and 21st centuries. He learned the art of metal fabrication in order to create instruments that could give expression to his unique …