Late in Lisbon

Pianist Chris Parker's Late In Lisbon, which consists of ten of his originals, gets off to a particularly strong start with a heated and tricky 36-bar calypso number, "Calypso Facto," which features fluent and spirited solos from Peter Epstein on soprano sax, Parker, and violinist Rob Thomas. While "The Chimney" is funky, "The Return" (which finds Epstein in top form on alto) is driving and has a catchy forward momentum stated by bassist Tony Marino. "Under The Bridge" has plenty of fire, while the title track, "Late In Lisbon," is a bit reminiscent of Chick Corea's post-Return To Forever work, and "The Thought Of Seeing You" is a melancholy ballad. "The Long Way Around" has a catchy groove not too far from "Freedom Jazz Dance," and the extended "There's Been A Slight Change Of Plans" features a mysterious and oddly appealing groove. "Night Song" is introspective, and the closing "Passage" is an upbeat groover. Throughout this set, the consistently colorful solos of Parker, Epstein and Thomas, with fine backup work from Marino, drummer Marko Marcinko, and (on two numbers) percussionist Bob Velez, makes this a particularly strong and memorable release of fairly accessible modern jazz.