David Weiss Sextet - Auteur [CD]

As a composer and bandleader, trumpeter David Weiss is dedicated to the proposition that there are still new stories to be told from within the bebop tradition. The several collaborative bands he's spearheaded over the last 3 decades - including the superband, The Cookers - are towering examples, but none more personal to his voice than this ongoing Sextet. With longtime collaborators saxophonist Myron Walden and drummer EJ Strickland, and newer musical partners such as tenor saxophonist Nicole Glover and pianist David Bryant, Weiss creates expansive harmonic and rhythmic frameworks for the group to explore and summit. Intriguing melodies and virtuosic solos highlight this set of five originals, along with compositions from Freddie Hubbard and Slide Hampton. "... innovating while drawing from tradition... creating a powerful, propulsive force." - Jazz TimesHarmonies shift in unsettled patterns; the pieces, beautiful as they are, work through their troubles in long, ruminative phrases; and the soloists likewise pitch their virtuosity in search of an elusive place they can call home... The tunes are lovely. - DownBeat.