Something less than I expected
I recently saw Akinmusire perform with Walter Smith III in San Francisco. What I loved about that group was that, for the first time in a long time, I watched a group dare to have its reach exceed its grasp; there were some fluffs but that is because the band chose not to play it safe. This album sounds a LOT safer, with its vocals and "prettiness" in some parts. On my system, it also sounds as though there may be some distortion in the middle tracks, but I will listen on another sound system to see if that happens again and, if so, try to figure out if the artists intended the track to sound that way. Akinmusire remains a potential giant, but this too-timid affair isn't going to be a huge part of his legacy if that is the case.
