Sticking with the atmospheric vibe of 2007's
Light On, trumpeter
Tom Harrell delivers more progressive and laid-back post-bop on 2009's
Prana Dance. Once again,
Harrell is backed by his working group featuring keyboardist
Danny Grissett, saxophonist
Wayne Escoffery, bassist
Ugonna Okegwo, and drummer
Johnathan Blake. This is a stellar ensemble with an organic, almost telepathic sense of group interplay, featuring highly inventive and adept improvisers well suited to
Harrell's cerebral compositions. The deftly simple tunes belie
Harrell's use of odd time signatures and knotty, creative harmonic passages. Such songs as the buoyant "Marching" and the angular mid-album track "The Call" make the most of keyboardist
Grissett's searching and minimalist Fender Rhodes sound. Similarly, the driving modal piece "Sequenza" brings to mind work by both
Wayne Shorter and
Dave Liebman -- which isn't necessarily surprising as saxophonist
Escoffery adds a lithe and angular voice to each song. While he's always been an impeccable improviser and technically adroit hornman,
Harrell himself has never sounded better or more assured on the trumpet. There's a warmth and directness to
Harrell's music here that seems to flow from the yogic notion of prana or the balance of breath. In that sense,
Prana Dance is the perfect balance of breath, movement, and music. ~ Matt Collar