Tom Chess: Momentarily Endless

Oud performer Tom Chess and associates go for the gusto on this sterling quartet date recorded at different venues in New York. With asymmetrical doses of free-form and conventional improvisational tactics shadowing attractive themes and hooks, the band tethers jazz with Middle Eastern and North African motifs, immersed within a sparkling soundstage. Chess leads the group through a buoyant assortment of song-forms and occasionally treks into the avant-garde domain, as they sustain a high level of interest amid a suspenseful sequence of progressions.

Trombonist Ryan Snow and Chess engage in a horde of bustling, supple and spiraling dialogues as they often accentuate a given theme, firmed up by bassist Will McEvoy, and percussionist Dan Kurfirst's crafty world-beat grooves. Chess is a superfine improviser with total command of his instrument, but switches to the Ney which is Middle Eastern end-blown flute on "Momentarily Endless," comprised of searching lines atop Kurfirst's polytonal cadences. But his solo oud extrapolations, complete with resonating notes and intricately rendered phrasings on "Oud Taksim: Coverage" is also formulated on probing Middle Eastern style exchanges.

" Coverage" features a hummable primary theme, revved-up by Snow's bold and imposing notes, followed by the soloists' unison time signatures and forthright modus operandi. They also mix it up in a jazzy sort of way. Indeed, this is one of those magical efforts, teeming with striking comps and the artists' superlative technical expertise. They hit all the right spots while kicking out the proverbial jams via a fresh slant that yields gratifying results.