Evergreen

A new name to us. Trumpeter Jun Iida - a US player of Japanese descent whose style recalls the much missed Roy Hargrove a bit - here on a very pleasant set of originals and standards recorded in a Los Angeles studio in 2022. The vocals of Audrey Johnson are tucked under melody lines and ingeniously add to the arranging style, and Iida also surrounds himself with the guitar of Masami Kuroki, piano of Josh Nelson who is great on opener 'Gooey Butter Cake,' bass of Jonathan Richards and drums of Xavier Lecouturier. The pick of the orginals is the atmosphere-laden ballad 'Song for Luke.'

A cover of the Sonny Rollins/Elmo Hope number 'Bellarosa' from the 1950s is a rare selection - great choice - as too is the more familiar but welcome choice of the 'Love Theme from Spartacus' that is very delicately delivered with fine accompaniment again by Nelson. It's a crowded field this kind of retro trumpet-led bebop soaked jazz. So let's hope that Evergreen gets heard because Iida clearly has something to say.