Movement

BEST OF 2018 Former Chicago drummer Watkins shows his deepening maturity with this release, a collection of vividly stated, often hard-charging originals featuring his muscular Grouptet. There's unstoppable rhythmic energy here at all tempos and unmistakable cohesion among its five players. As for the compositions, the lyric poetry of Watkins' "Six Moods" is counterbalanced by the tuneful charm and vigor of "Catch This" and the ever-changing textures and syntax of the title track.