I Always Knew

Jay Thomas plays trumpet and flugelhorn as well as alto, tenor and soprano sax for tribute to blue pastels from masters ranging from Duke Ellington to Chick Corea. Fellow brass man Oliver Groenewald does most of the charts for the team that also boasts Brad Allison/tp-fh, Dan Marcus/tb, travis Ranney/as-fl-cl, Greg Sinabaldi/bs-bcl, John Hansen/p, Michael Glynn/b and Adam Kessler/dr. The moods and textures are highly in debt to Gil Evans, with rich harmonies on Dexter Gordon's "Ernie's Tune" and lush reeds during Lucky Thompson's "Deep Passion." Muted horns and deep drumming create a film noir atmosphere on Billy Strayhorn's obscure "Ballad For The Very Tired and Very Sad Lotus Eaters" with elegant piano closing out things on "Stardust." Blue pastels.