People Calling

On the terrific new People Calling (Origin), this Chicago-New York four-piece taps into the "spiritual jazz" feel of John Coltrane's classic quartet, even chanting the words of the title track, a la "A Love Supreme." The new recording is a big leap forward for Chicago saxophonist Dudley Owens, whose 2009 debut album, Just the Beginning, tried to show off his entire range and ended up diluting his strengths. He's now impressively focused: he brings an airy, tender soulfulness to his soprano work on "Elijah," and he's even better on tenor, with a muscular tone that sounds just as good on high-velocity bar-walking honks ("Y.A.G.M.G.D.") as it does on searing, post-Wayne Shorter modal blowing ("Book of Revelations"). New York bassist Aaron Immanuel Wright coleads the group, which also includes Chicago drummer Clif Wallace and New York pianist Willerm Delisfort. Trumpeter Justin Stanton provides a nice foil to Owens on four album tracks, but for these shows only the core quartet will play.