Tom Cox: The Journey Home

Little Rock pianist Tom Cox and bassist Bill Huntington follow their plaintive, 2014 release Red (Self Produced) with the present The Journey Home. Like Red it is an exploration of spare melody with harmony on piano, propelled by Huntington's certain time. It is a crepuscular recital of mood pieces, warmly conceived as if at the end of day. The majority of pieces are Cox composed with the Coots/Lewis standard "For All We Know," Keith Jarrett's "Prism" and Gonzalo Rubalcaba's arrangement of "Nocturnal" thematically assimilated into the suite.

Cox's pieces are quiet and contemplative with full block chords and light melodies anchoring the performances. Two of the pieces feature the format of Little Rock bassist Joe Vick and drummer Dave Rogers. The aforementioned "Nocturnal" sports a wide open American Pastoral air while Cox's own "Climbing" gracefully waltzes through the ether, attracting harmony like honey. This is simple, sumptuous music that can be breathed deeply, affording a fratic psyche rest and respite. The Journey Home is a fine follow-up to that is enjoyable in all the same ways.