Michael Dease
Grace
Jazz Legacy Productions
www.michaeldease.com
By George W. Harris

He’s played with artists as varied as Alicia Keys to Gillespie’s Big band, having just recorded with Claudio Roditi on his own wonderful Simpatico. Here, the trombonist shows how diverse he can sound with a rollicking rhythm section of Cyrus Chestnut/p, Rufus Reid/b and Gene Jackson/dr along with a who’s who of cameo stars. Tenorist Eric Alexander hits the ground running with Dease on a hard hitting take of McCoy Tyner’s “Blues On The Corner” while Roy Hargrove delivers an elegiac partnership on Bix Beiderbecke’s “In A Mist.” A couple of Brazilian tunes by Ivan Lins spotlight Dease in a hand in glove setting, with Roditi, and the twin guitars of Yotam and Tarik Zephram joining with flutist Sharel Cassity and Dease on a richly sonorous “Setembro.” If you’re trombone player, this one will keep you listening for days.