The Other Shoe: The Music of Gregg Hill

The trombone and baritone sax player Michael Dease knows his way around a swingin' tune you won't soon forget, and here he delivers 10 of Gregg Hill's compositions that welcome Virginia MacDonald, Liany Mateo, Colleen Clark, Geoffrey Keezer and Luther Allison, plus others.

"Wake Up Call" gets the listen off to a bright start, where Keezer's jumpy keys and Mateo's frisky bass complement Dease's animated brass, and "Hello, Blues" arrives not too long after and showcases Rodney Whitaker's bass prowess amid the soulful trombone and flowing clarinet from MacDonald.

The halfway point belongs to "The Sleeper", where Kevin Jones and Gwendolyn Dease provide strategic percussion add much atmosphere to the rich horns, while "The Classic" finds a dreamy place to reside with the clarinet and trombone interacting with much grace.

"Shorty's Tune" and the title track exit the listen, where the former blends plenty of intimacy into the dynamic musicianship between the winds, drums, and keys, and the latter finishes with Dease handling baritone sax and Allsion on Fender rhodes for the rhythmic and harmonic gestures.

Dease has 15 recordings already under his belt, and this very intricate and post-bop friendly display of first rate musicianship and very focused playing is yet another bright spot in his catalog.