New England Jazz Collaborative: Tributaries

Tributaries is the debut recording by the seventeen-member New England Jazz Collaborative whose origin and purpose are summed up as follows: "an artist-led non-profit collective dedicated to commissioning, presenting and documenting new music and expanding the audience for what remains a thrilling and vital musical form."

The album consists of half a dozen fresh compositions by a quartet of talented composers and arrangers: NEJC founder Jeremy Cohen, Matan Rubinstein, Darryl Harper and Sam Spear, with the ensemble ably conducted by Ken Schaphorst. The writing styles vary widely, from classic New Orleans swing and straight-ahead jazz and balladry to Third Stream fusion and West African harmonies and rhythms. It is thanks to their musical skills that everything on the album is persuasive and accessible.

"The composers' breadth gives the album an element of surprise and a genuine something-for-everyone quality," Cohen writes. "It reflects a contemporary musical reality in which artists and listeners move fluidly across styles and traditions. Tributaries feels like a carefully curated playlist, but with a strong sense of authorship, continuity and ensemble sound."

Cohen's "Another Brighter Day," which is precisely that, opens with the sound of birds singing and ends the same way. In between is a charming and buoyant theme punctuated by refreshing solos from guitarist Mitch Selib, soprano saxophonist Temidayo Balogun and drummer Lumanyana Mzi to reinforce splendid work by the ensemble.

Mzi's staccato drum beats introduce Rubinstein's vibrant "Ol' Liminal," which runs the gamut from a trumpet-led New Orleans vibe to more modernistic designs from rock to hip hop to electronics. Harper wrote the enchanting ballad "Kiss Me Again" and sinuous, odd-meter "The Secret," the last introduced again by Mzi and featuring round-robin solo exchanges between trombonist Chris Gagne , trumpeter Bijon Watson, alto Allan Chase and baritone Brian Landrus, underscoring another solid performance by the ensemble. Soloists on "Kiss Me Again" are Badogun (on tenor), trumpeter Mark Tipton and pianist Ellie Pruneau.

Chase's creamy alto is showcased on Spear's stylish "Gee, Em...," which hints at influences from Duke Ellington to Gunther Schuller and leads to the festive closing number, Cohen's nimble "Green Turtle Strut," an Afro-Caribbean charmer on which Ghanaian-born Mzi adds talking drum and other percussion to enhance its upbeat rhythms. That wraps a splendid first-ever album by the ardent and admirable NEJC, with the explicit hope of many more to follow.