Mercy

In Armstrong's sharp second mystery to feature former army sniper Mercy Gunderson (after 2010's No Mercy), Mercy stumbles late one night on the shot and slashed body of Maj. Jason "J-Hawk" Hawley, who once saved her life in Indonesia, outside Clementine's, the bar where she's been stuck for months in a dead-end temporary job. When her boyfriend, Eagle River County (S.Dak.) sheriff Mason Dawson, doesn't do enough to investigate, Mercy goes into action.

Mercy is among the most fascinating and overlooked acts to emerge from Sweden. Formed in the early 1980s by Andrija Veljaca, a native Croatian who moved to Sweden in the 1970s and was the band’s only constant member, Mercy was one of a handful of groups that established Sweden as a hub for a new raw and visceral style of heavy metal in the 1980s…

Cornetist Nat Adderley's music has not developed much since his years with Cannonball Adderley, but the playing on this CD is of such a high level that one really does not mind. Adderley's chops sound better than usual for the period as he teams up with altoist Antonio Hart (who hints at Cannonball while giving the music his own approach), pianist Rob Bargad, bassist Walter Booker and drummer Jimmy Cobb. The nine songs include six from the Cannonball days, including a version of the title cut that gets beyond the melody for some fine solos, as well as a catchy original apiece by Hart and Bargad, and the standard "On the Sunny Side of the Street." Excellent hard bop.