Ari & Cecil Alexander: Kaleidoscope

A breezy virtuosity pervades Kaleidoscope from the opening title cut. "I run for the train with you on my mind," vocalist-pianist Ari Alexander sings, "watching the town kaleidoscope by..." She and guitarist Cecil Alexander call their style "rhythmic post-bop," citing Herbie Hancock, Joe Henderson and Betty Carter as influences, but you can also hear a bit of Bob Dorough, Dave Frishberg and Blossom Dearie in their original compositions, pieces like Dorough and Frishberg's "I'm Hip," which Dearie premiered in 1966 (At Ronnie Scott's, Fontana). The vibe is light, agile, and—yes—hip.

The Alexanders live in rural Pennsylvania, a couple of hours outside of New York, but still close enough to dip into the city for gigs at rooms like Dizzy's. The other two members of the group, bassist Rob Linton and drummer Danny McGonegle, are Nashville-based. Three of the four are Berklee grads. Linton is the outlier, with an undergraduate degree from University of North Carolina at Charlotte and a master's from University of Tennessee, Knoxville.  Ari Alexander took her master's degree at New England Conservatory. Cecil earned his at William Paterson. She grew up in Northern Denmark, he in Muskegon, Michigan.

He is an award-winning guitarist and she a terrific scat singer, and they exhibit a good deal of "grease and math" together, a phrase Cecil coined to describe the work of two of his jazz heroes: "They can hold down a groove and swing, but they can also engage with complex rhythms and harmony." They each teach online and have self-published a number of improvisational methods, technical etudes, songbooks, and analytical articles. Kaleidoscope, their second joint release, follows Duos (Self-Produced, 2023).

Cecil and Ari penned half the tunes on the program, individually and together, and arranged the remainder. "Kaleidoscope," the bright opener, and "What Do You Know," the easygoing closer, are co-creations, both gems. Ari wrote three numbers of her own, including the appealing and whimsically titled love song, "It's Grand, It's Weird." Cecil contributed a fine arrangement of "Tea for Two" that shines at a blazing Anita O'Day tempo, while his "East of the Sun" features a nice modernization of the feel in the form of a cool hip-hop groove.  And Ari's take on Bud Powell's "Celia," which paints the title character as an unattainably glamorous ideal, is perfect: "Don't get me wrong, I'm not pretending to be Celia, but I might just bring along her picture 'cause I could use some guidance when I go to the salon."

Kaleidoscope is a lovely mélange of engaging originals and fresh settings of Great American Songbook selections with several highlights and a wonderful rapport in the ensemble throughout. Well done to all.