Dave Douglas Quintet - Time Travel (Greenleaf, 2013)

Trumpeter and composer Dave Douglas began putting a new band together in 2012, eventually releasing the Be Still album that featured the vocals of Aoife O'Donovan. The new album, Time Travel, is a strictly instrumental affair, with Jon Irabagon on tenor saxophone, Matt Mitchell on piano, Linda Oh on bass and Rudy Royston on drums joining Douglas on this project. The album begins with “Bridge to Nowhere” which has a bright and swinging feel, with trumpet and saxophone intertwining nicely, recalling the great music Douglas made with saxophonist Chris Potter on the albums Magic Triangle and Leap of Faith.There is a fine piano solo, making for a malleable beat along with some strong and ripe drumming. There is a medium tempo full band introduction to “Time Travel” with Douglas probing and then building into a ripe brassy solo. Irabagon chimes is with an equally deep feature, developing a lightly coarse sandpaper tone, digging his heels in before releasing to a nice piano, bass and drums section. “Beware of Doug” has a jaunty theme with some spiffy trumpet aided and abetted by fast piano and a fleet drum solo. They head back to the swinging melody for a very accessible conclusion. The group keeps the music upbeat on “Garden State” where a propulsive riffing opening reveals clear punchy trumpet and brisk saxophone feature that is bristling with ideas. There is a well thought out bass solo before everyone returns to finish the song. This was a consistent and well made album that shows the benefit of a working group that can develop their music together in a satisfying manner. Time Travel - amazon.com

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