Umbra

Kansas City-rooted quintet formed around the tenor of Matt Otto performs a set of nine originals with heart. Four of the tunes are presented as a tenor - bass - drums trio (the leader plus Jeff Harshbarger and John Kizilarmut) begging positive comparison to Sonny Rollins landmark recordings from the 50s and 60s as Otto mines the spare format for maximum emotion. Not to take anything away from the other tunes and the other players, but these trios (Mousai, Paw Paw, Wanjiku and Melisma) are the real deal. Dan McClehaghan wrote on AllAboutJazz, "[Otto's] two previous recordings [on Origin], and now Umbra, say that Otto is a true original in his compositional efforts. He sounds like no-one else. Free? Sort of, and laid back, with a beautiful sax tone. It sounds like he is laying out his own personal truths. Take them or leave them." The more I listen, the more I love this.