Alex Coke & Carl Michel Sextet: Situation

As might be envisioned from a sextet whose membership encompasses harp, vibraphone, flute and pedal steel guitar, the themes on saxophonist Alex Coke and guitarist Carl Michel's third album, Situation, are in large measure thoughtful and atmospheric. And while the music is charming and graceful, its ties to jazz are tenuous at best.

Yes, there is some improvisation, but it seems more an afterthought than an essential part of the equation. There are no appreciable departures from the written score before the album's title track, which is preceded by half a dozen numbers wherein barely any ad-libs are heard. While there is no gainsaying the group's musicianship, it is tendered for the most part in service to what is more akin to chamber or semi-classical works than to jazz, contemporary or otherwise.

Although Coke solos on Thelonious Monk's "Crepuscule with Nellie" and Wayne Shorter's "Miyoko," even those numbers have been largely shorn of their rhythmic framework in favor of languid and nuanced set pieces that would be more at home in a concert hall than a jazz venue. The more one listens to Situation, the less jazz appears to play any sort of meaningful role in its production.

That is not meant to imply that the music is anything less than well-drawn or pleasing, as there is much to assimilate and admire. It simply has little to do with jazz. While it is rather surprising that Situation was released as a jazz album, it doesn't seem to lend itself easily to any other genre, so jazz may have been an all-purpose stand-in. Even so, and in spite of its negligible links to jazz, no less than three stars can be awarded, as the music is by and large excellent, the musicianship trim and impeccable. Be advised, however, that this is not jazz as generally defined but warrants a premise of its own.