Caroline Davis, Doors: Chicago Storyline

Chicago-associated alto Caroline Davis gives us her second album, Doors: Chicago Storyline (eyes & ears ee:15-o39). It alternates Caroline's advanced jazz compositions as played by her regular band with spoken dialogs from local musicians on the Chicago jazz scene from the '80s to the present day, roughly.

The dialogs tell the story of the clubs, the players, the ups and downs. The music gives us modern new mainstream jazz of a worthy sort. Caroline is joined by Mike Allemana on guitar, Matt Ferguson, bass, Jeremy Cunningham on drums, plus guest Russ Johnson on trumpet for most of the album, and cameo appearances by Ron Perrillo on piano and Katinka Kleijn on cello.

Caroline has a rather lush, darkish tone and well-executed, very good ideas on alto. The band is very much a together thing thanks to what I take is a lengthy collaboration. Strong soloing is going on throughout and the compositions are memorable.

The dialogs have a real sense of history and anecdotal we-were-there authenticity.

And the music is first-rate, top-notch, a testament to Caroline's strong musicianship and the cohesive talents of her band. At times the compositions have an almost Dukish-Strayhornesque classicism. Other times they sound hip and contemporary.

I missed her first album but this second finds me enthusiastic. She is someone to hear, surely, and this is a fine way to get introduced. Good music and another excellent example of the Chicago scene! Recommended.

Allison Au Quartet, The Sky was Pale Blue, Then Grey

From Canada comes the Allison Au Quartet and their The Sky was Pale Blue, Then Grey (self-release). I don't know a great deal about the artists here. A few listens, though, and you know you are in the presence of thoughtful and expressively accomplished players. And the compositions, by Allison Au with one co-written by pianist Todd Pentney, have a contemporary freshness that frames everything well.

The band features Allison on alto sax. She stands out as a player with an alternatingly pure and hard-toned strength, facility and imagination. Pentney is on piano and keys and gives the band a second solo voice of distinction. Then there is the rhythm section of Jonathan Maharaj on bass and Fabio Ragnelli on drums, players with contemporary looseness but continuously vibrant pulsation.

The music is evolved contemporary, the pulses rocking ahead with jazz-rock-funk-swing and Latin feels but at the same time involved compositional intricacies and straight-to-your-being blowing which has smarts and feeling.

It is, if you want forebears, a sort of extension of ECM middle-period acoustic jazz-rock and maybe Gary-Burtonian involved lines, but then not quite and it is renewed by Allison's good sense both at the pen and at the alto.

She is a player very well showcased here in ways that bring pleasure and good sounds to your ears with consistency.

Recommended!