Drummer
Craig Wuepper follows up his superb 2001 debut,
The Returnsman, with his equally as compelling sophomore effort,
Leaps and Bounds. A New York-based jazz drummer,
Wuepper composed all of the material here save for a version of
Cole Porter's "I Concentrate on You" and an intimate, Latin-infused version of "My One and Only Love." Joining
Wuepper is a veritable who's who of acoustic jazz, including trumpeter
Jim Rotondi, tenor saxophonist
David Schnitter, pianist
David Hazeltine, and bassist
Dennis Irwin. The result of
Wuepper's efforts is a thoughtful, urbane, and swinging album of straight-ahead jazz.