Evergreen

Trumpeter Jun Iida, who makes his recording debut on Evergreen, grew up in St. Louis and Pittsburgh, spent time in Los Angeles, and during the past three years has lived in Seattle. Before relocating to New York, he recorded Evergreen to pay tribute to his period on the West Coast.

Iida has a mellow tone and a relaxed style. While his playing is somewhat laid back and unexciting, this is a solid start and his future development should be worth watching. His wide interests in music and versatility are on display during a release that features an excel lent sextet with keyboardist Josh Nelson, guitarist Masami Kuroki, bassist Jonathan Richards, drummer Xavier Lecouturier and, as a bonus, singer Aubrey Johnson on a few numbers. Nelson often takes solo honors, guitarist Kuroki has a passionate style and Johnson is outstanding whenever she appears. The vocalist, who has a beautiful tone, mostly sings wordlessly in ensembles and hits some dazzling high notes but she also performs in Japanese on two numbers.

Iida contributes six of the 10 selections, including the infectious "Gooey Butter Cake," the warm ballad "Song For Luke" and a thoughtful "My Anguish In Solidarity" inspired by George Floyd. Two numbers, the children's melody "Akatombo" and a jazz version of the J-Pop song "Shiki No Uta," have Iida paying tribute to two aspects of his Japanese heritage.

Also included is a warm and melodic duet with Nelson on "Love Theme From Spartacus" and the boppish Sonny Rollins-Elmo Hope song "Bellarosa."