Leni Stern, "Dance" (LSR). "I wish I could fly," Stern complains, while proving every airborne moment that she can. As Alioune Faye's earthy hand drums wrestle with Mamadou Ba's athletic electric bass, seasons of suppressed mobility explode into railroad rhythm, horsecart jostle and leaping guitar (is that a snatch of ramblin' Allmans?) -- Stern even explores strange new worlds with a "Star Trek" vocal. Keyboardist Leo Genovese, meanwhile, is everywhere at once, twirling the space funk one moment and twinkling playful abstractions (like Mike Garson with Bowie) the next. Fittingly, Stern begins with "Ya Rakhman Prayer," a quiet African supplication coupled with a guitar solo that soars in any language.
Jeff Kollman, "East of Heaven" (CD Baby). While the ignorant loiter, musicians such as Glenn Hughes, Alan Parsons and Jeff Kollman's own Cosmosquad recognize Kollman as a pre-eminent fusionistic axman. Here he ties skill to emotion in a program of varied originals that inflame both mind and heart. We feel "Loss" in Kollman's sensitive, mournful electric solo, and its magnificently complex final chord. Passionate triumph à la Procol Harum follows in "The Mass Exodus," graced with drummer Shane Gaalaas's syncopated power. Kollman pays tribute to the late Eddie Van Halen via a brief but thoughtful improvisation. "Superstring Theory" is an indomitable rock song with a real melody -- no vocals necessary throughout, cuz Kollman's guitar tells tales. Horror, memory, astonomy and a hint of blues expand horizons, including some deft acoustic work on "Darkness Resides" and the elegant changes of "Hidden Dimensions." Fascinating, start to finish.
Dan Rosenboom, Billy Mohler & Anthony Fung, "Refraction" (Orenda). Electronic splits and loops splash just enough mystery on trumpeter Rosenboom's simpatico trio. The horn's melodic spontaneity sends Miles/Ornette messages with confident eloquence; Fung makes easy transitions between the worlds of Al Foster, Ed Blackwell and Sunny Murray; and Mohler's bass roots the organism like a cypress in bubbling mud. Rosenboom's enormous scope and technique -- check out his triple-tonguing, and his occasional Pops-like loose vibrato -- has coalesced into a portable artistry we can rely on, whether he's sad, crazed or partying. Studio mastery's on the menu, too, especially if you prefer superior lows. Listen/buy here.
Joe Lovano & Dave Douglas' Sound Prints, "Other Worlds" (Greenleaf). Saxist Lovano and trumpeter Douglas enjoy collaborating, or this wouldn't be their third Sound Prints album -- Lovano gets to move further outside of the tradition, and Douglas gets to relax a bit. Here, in addition to smart exercises in counterpoint, shifting harmony and jazz fugue, their quintet takes a brisk walk, spins a dark waltz, does some pillow boxing, locates ingenious triangulations and surprises a goddess by a sylvan pool. Pianist Lawrence Fields spreads gossamer transparencies while bassist Linda May Han Oh makes the wood resonate and drummer Joey Baron pretends he's not keeping time (when he actually is). Ornette shows up too, if not in Lovano's Porterhouse tone, then in Davis' cunning hesitations. Listening to the happy mood, you can bet that someday more Prints will come, as sure as UFOs are real. Listen/buy here.