Drummer Joe La Barbera leads an all-star group of top Los Angeles-based players on Mark Time. Trumpeter Clay Jenkins, pianist Bill Cunliffe, and bassist Tom Warrington all contribute many colorful statements along the way while Bob Sheppard (on tenor and soprano) often takes solo honors. The quintet performs two songs by La Barbera (including a melancholy ballad for the late trumpeter Conte Candoli called “Bella Luce”), a pair of numbers from Cunliffe, and selections by Kenny Wheeler, John Abercrombie, and Kenny Drew (“Contour”). The music includes some adventurous post-bop explorations (Sheppard is excellent on “Automaton” and “Suite Sixteen”) and boppish renditions of “Contour” and Cunliffe’s up-tempo blues “Chick It Out.” The musicians were clearly inspired by each other and this moody and modern straight-ahead set has many bright moments along the way. – Scott Yanow
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