Canadian saxophonist/composer Andrew Rathbun’s True Stories is a testament to fellow Canadian, poet Margaret Atwood’s lesser known works such as “True Stores” and “Bluejays”. For his third release, the artist demonstrates a keen and convincingly fresh compositional jazz-based approach. Vocalist Luciana Souza lends her warm, softly stated lyricism to several of these pieces amid blended horns, bustling yet often streamlined rhythmic developments and heartfelt choruses by Rathbun, trumpeter Taylor Haskins and pianist George Colligan.

“True Stories Part I” features Ms. Souza’s wistful vocals in concurrence with an undeniably appealing melody as the band expounds upon and effectively reworks the primary theme on “True Stories Parts II-III” via shifty arrangements and a few unexpected twists and turns tossed into the mix. Basically, Rathbun shines as a modern jazz-style troubadour besides possessing strong chops as a saxophonist. However, this newly released recording is marked by a continuous flow brimming with probing lines, hearty soloing and fluid rhythmic developments from bassist John Herbert and drummer Jeff Hirshfield. A compelling and altogether noteworthy effort it is! Recommended.