Aram Shelton: Arrive

This, the ninth recording in the Document Chicago series, it continues to provide the listener with interesting twists and turns. Aram Shelton's music treads a path that is gentle in its ministrations and elevated by the sensibility of the musicians. This does not deny Shelton from blowing some pithy trajectories or keep Jason Roebke from spurring some dervish whirls on the bass. And it does allow Tim Daisy to time in with interesting pulses and odd accents and permit Jason Adasiewicz to suspend time or give it fecund flow.

The band starts off on an inviting note with "On Time. Adasiewicz and Daisy set up the melodic measure and then Shelton and Roebke, playing arco, take it at a tangent. They shift the melody, a call-and-response segment that lets Shelton investigate the core and fill it with sharp lines that dissect. Meanwhile the rhythm men, particularly Daisy, add that hue and fleck which bring about a greater dimension. And just when it seems that they have settled into that little groove of malleable navigation, Daisy ups the pulse and Roebke strangles and squeezes the notes out of his bass. That interspersion is quickly scuttled and the tune climaxes with a sense of abandon.

A sense of serenity graces "Because of You, the mood built on the vibraphone and bass. And then the alto saxophone comes in, sweet notes investing a glow that warms the senses. Shelton improvises on the melody, and with the other three adding embellishments that enhance the dynamics, this tune is a standout.