Artemis: Arboresque

The virtuoso musicians of Artemis—pianist Renee Rosnes trumpeter Ingrid Jensen saxophonist Nicole Glover bassist Noriko Ueda, and drummer Allison Miller —get down to business quick on their third for Blue Note Arboresque. A testament to collaborative intuition and instinct,  Arboresque may vary more in tempo and mood than its acclaimed predecessors—2023's ringing In Real Time and 2020's standard-setting debut Artemis—but it never lacks purpose or promise. It never goes looking for something it does not find.

Jumping off with unsung pianist Donald Brown's (Eddie Henderson Gary Bartz Buster Williams) quizzical "The Smile of the Snake," Artemis bares their strengths with a feisty, airtight horn line bouncing about a punchy rhythmic sway. A compact performance bursting at the seams, Glover and Jensen lead the way while Miller and Ueda keep them guessing and Rosnes holds strong the center. 

Ueda's quieter (but no less vibrant) ensemble piece "Komorebi" follows, allowing each to test their elasticity. Jensen's "Sights Unseen" sails forth with a mid-SeventiesWeather Report sparkle, her instrument flying high. Handing off to Glover, who either on her own or with the quintet continues her ascendency as one of the day's leading artisans. Glover then turns the tables with the indigo misted "Petrichor," a smokey after-hours ballad that fits Rosnes and Jensen to a tee.

Rosnes' arrangement of Wayne Shorter's never forgotten "Footprints" echo-merges Shorter's bop waltz spin heard on his epic Adam's Apple (Blue Note, 1966); its fervent and expansive 80's reiterations, and the bustling, freer form first heard on the Miles Davis standard Miles Smiles (Columbia, 1966). Ueda especially enjoys the setting, her bass burbling along while the rest of the band swings for the fences. "Olive Branch," Rosne' more conventional samba-like follow-up, leans towards the smoother edge of things, but these five do not linger there long, each layer adding spice to the mix. The pianist then sets Burt Bacharach and Hal David's 60s anthem "What the World Needs Now Is Love" to a modest pace, leaving space for her cohorts to wind and unwind around the eternal melody. Miller's dreamy "Little Cranberry" closes out the assertive and triumphant  Arboresque with a triumph of shuffle groove all its own. Let us count this one as one of the year's best.