Tyshawn Sorey

Composers drawing on visual arts or literary works for inspiration and guidance are nothing new. Think Mussorgsky’s “Picture at an Exhibition” or even Scott Fields’ Clean Feed release “Beckett.” This CD by trombonist Michael Dessen and his trio continues the tradition.

I’ve been waiting for some forward thinking musician to intelligently combine the music of M-Base (which is both cerebral and funky but not particularly emotional) with elements of John Coltrane’s classic period modal innovations. Alto saxophonist Steve Lehman takes an impressive step in that direction with On Meaning.