Another Morning

With Another Morning (Origin), Matt Jorgensen+451 continue their pathbreaking combination of jazz, rock, and funk, all without succumbing to the excesses of yore: aimless solos, straitjacketed arrangements, and second-rate riffs. My favorite track, "Lock Down," begins with Ryan Burns laying down some serene electric piano chords but a sequence of ascending harmonies takes over, giving the tune a yearning, Pet Sounds?era Brian Wilson feel. Fine solos by everyone in the band follow, but the real treat is Jorgensen. Tapping, poking, and stabbing the cymbals, Jorgensen serves as a subtle co-colorist, pushing and prodding with microscopic licks that keep the whole thing together.

And what might prove a safe refuge?covering tunes like "Helter Skelter" and Neil Young's "Ohio"?impels Jorgensen and company to recast the tunes; a plodding, second-rate Beatles song levitates immediately with Phil Sparks's walking bass and a witty, bop-inflected solo by saxophonist Mark Taylor.