Minor Changes

The quintet of young players on Minor Changes performs an updated version of hard bop. The best-known musician is probably Los Angeles-based tenor saxophonist David Sills, but all five are talented players. Although six of the seven selections are by trumpeter Liam Sillery (all but Billy Preston's "You Are So Beautiful"), the music is primarily straight-ahead modern mainstream music, with the musicians sounding at their best on "Terry's Blues," the modal "Prana" (which has pianist Jesse Stacken sounding a bit like McCoy Tyner), and a couple pieces that swing in the tradition of the best 1960s Blue Note recordings. Sillery, although influenced a little by Freddie Hubbard, Woody Shaw, and Wynton Marsalis, has his own approach and displays lots of potential. Sills has an appealing tone and the rhythm section is swinging but never predictable. Recommended.