Eddie Allen: The Rhythm

Brooklyn-based trumpeter Eddie Allen and his well-groomed sextet, PUSH, truly are rhythm-focused, as they prove time and again on Allen's ninth recording as leader of his own group. Whatever the tone or tempo, PUSH swings its merry way through a dozen bright and upbeat tunes, most written and all arranged by Allen, wherein strong and dazzling rhythms are almost always front and center.

The lone exception to that rule is the brief "Psalms 150," the only meditative item on the menu and one whose ambience is so unforeseen that it is close to jarring. Allen is a superb writer, and one thing—among several—that sets the album apart from so many others is his clever use of keyboard specialist Misha Tsiganov who sounds at times like a harp, an organ, a flute, a violin, marimbas and even an EWI. Another is the marvelous support of guest trombonist Steve Turre who solos with creativity and charm on eight numbers.

And then there is Allen himself, an impressive trumpeter from the Lee Morgan/Freddie Hubbard/Blue Mitchell school of hard bop whose solos, even though breaking no new ground, are consistently sharp and pleasing. The same can be said for tenor saxophonist Jonathan Beshay and pianist Tyler Bullock II who share front-line duties with Allen. As for the rhythm component—pivotal on an album such as this—it rests in the invariably capable hands of bassist Kenny Davis and drummer E.J. Strickland.

The ensemble shows it means business from the outset, skipping happily through the album's gregarious title song and a trio of similarly-genial swingers (including "Mario's Interlude," on which Tsiganov emulates the marimbas) before arriving at the first of the session's trio of "outliers," Duke Ellington's melancholy "Mood Indigo." Bullock introduces that theme, taken at a brighter-than-usual clip, leading to the assertive "Daybreak" (another of Allen's original compositions, not to be confused with Ferde Grofe's enchanting theme from the Grand Canyon Suite).

Two more swingers, "Worth Saying" and "The Journey," precede the standard "Our Day Will Come," "Psalms 150" and another of the session's several high spots, the sinuous and well-grooved "7 Days" (featuring stellar solos by Tsiganov and the front-liners). The ensemble wraps the package with two readings of the tart and funky "Eve's Deception," the second of which is more or less a brief shout chorus for the group. If bright and resolute rhythms are your bag, you have definitely come to the right place, as Allen's dynamic ensemble has a firm grip on the rhythmic throttle and shows no urge to decelerate.