The Anthony Wilson Trio

Guitarist Anthony Wilson is a particularly talented arranger-composer. He is usually heard with larger groups, so this trio outing gives listeners a rare opportunity to hear him stretch out as an improviser. The music mostly falls between hard bop and soul-jazz and tends to be laid-back and relaxed, even the rapid rendition of "All the Things You Are." The fine Los Angeles organist Joe Bagg works well with Wilson, while drummer Mark Ferber adds subtlety and swing. But the guitarist, who contributed four of the eight selections, is the main star and his soft tone and quietly inventive ideas make this set worth listening to closely.

Most of Anthony Wilson's recordings to date tend to put the focus on his writing, so this workout by the guitarist in a trio is a welcome change of pace. Wilson has a melodic and boppish style with an attractive tone. He interacts with two fellow citizens of Los Angeles: organist Joe Bagg and drummer Mark Feber. Wilson contributes three originals and also plays songs by Bagg, Kenny Burrell, the Beatles, Frank Loesser, and Duke Ellington ("Prelude to a Kiss"). Overall this is a fine straight-ahead jazz date by an underrated but talented guitarist.

Charles Lloyd has long been a free spirit, master musician, and visionary. For more than 6 decades the legendary saxophonist and composer has loomed large over the music world, and at 84 years old he remains at the height of his powers and as prolific as ever. As a sound seeker, Lloyd’s restless creativity has perhaps found no greater manifestation than on his latest masterwork Trio of Trios, an expansive project that encompasses three albums, each a deft change of musical context that presents him in a different trio setting.