Renee Rosnes, who left her native Canada to settle in New York and play with
Joe Henderson,
Jon Faddis and her own groups, is an excellent pianist inspired by early
Herbie Hancock and
McCoy Tyner. She heads a top New York sextet on this CD that includes the potentially great trumpeter
Nicholas Payton (here showing a strong
Freddie Hubbard influence), bassist
Peter Washington, drummer
Al Foster and percussionist
Don Alias. However the musician who makes the biggest impression on the date is
Chris Potter, mostly on tenor but also contributing some effective soprano, bass clarinet and alto flute.
Potter, who by the mid-'90s already had his own sound on each of his instruments, gained his earliest recognition playing with
Red Rodney's quintet in the 1980s but has since developed into a major postbop stylist with an explorative and colorful style. It is for his playing on these selections (five of which are challenging
Rosnes originals) that
Ancestors is chiefly recommended. ~ Scott Yanow