The Vibe

Here's a debut album from a trombonist with a lot of warmth and promise. Nanami Haruta hits the ground running on this al bum with Michael Dease/tb-bars, Xavier Davis/p, Rodney Whitaker/b, Ulysses Owens Jr/dr and guest Chris Minami/g on a mix of originals and coves. Haruta shows off her glowing tone on a gloriously Spartan take of "Unchained Melody" as well as dressing up in velvet on her own "Toshi". She flows with Dease's baritone on "Girlie's World" and the two flex some muscles on the bopper "Algonquin". Some Asian harmonics make "Easy Money" a clever stroll, with Davis bringing in some elegant ideas for "Heartstrings". Haruta slides safely into all the bases on this opening at bat.