Ben Rosenblum Nebula Project: A Thousand Pebbles

This is music for the open-minded. On A Thousand Pebbles, his fourth album as leader, New York-based pianist & accordionist Ben Rosenblum's seven-member Nebula Project traverses a number of musical landscapes, from Bulgaria to Brazil, Ireland to Israel, and realms beyond, offering a pleasurable smorgasbord of contemporary jazz that is always engaging and never shopworn.

Rosenblum the composer wrote all of the album's eleven numbers save one, Antonio Carlos Jobim & Chico Baurque's melodious "Song of the Sabia," and each of his themes is bright and charming. The centerpiece is the four-movement "Thousand Pebbles" suite, which blends several of Rosenblum's influences, from the Hebrew synagogue to progressive jazz-rock, into a savory and consistently surprising stew.

Another highlight is the upbeat finale, "Implicit Attitude," a straight-on swinger based on the Miles Davis & Gil Evans classic "Boplicity." Rosenblum plays piano on that one, underlining persuasive statements by trumpeter Wayne Tucker, bass clarinetist Jasper Dutz and drummer Ben Zweig. The ensemble unwraps the session with the frisky "Catamaran," whose extended intro by Rosenblum's piano leads to a smooth-flowing midsection and accordion-driven Irish jig.

"Bulgares," which follows, elicits a buoyant Middle Eastern vibe, with Rosenblum on accordion and Tucker's trumpet in the foreground. Following the "Pebbles" suite, Marty Jaffe's arco bass introduces "The Bell from Europe," a solemn requiem with Israeli nuances. "The Village Steps" raises the tempo and the heat (behind crisp solos by Dutz on alto and Rosenblum on accordion) before the calm, colorful "Lilian" (on which Jaffe excels) leads to "Song of the Sabia."

Guitarist Rafael Rosa and percussionist Xavier Del Castillo round out the septet, which is solid and in step on every number. Within the ever-widening boundaries of contemporary jazz, A Thousand Pepples has found a niche that is both charming and comfortable.

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