Stern Neo

In her first large ensemble recording, pianist/composer Peggy Stern reflects a deeply harmonic, richly hued piano style into original written music, employing a sensitive and very talented horn section. Trumpeter Ron Horton, tenor saxophonist John McKenna, and trombonist Art Baron bring Stern's charts to life, and bassists Harvie Swartz and Art Kell, drummers Tony Moreno and Bernard Purdie, and percussionist Memo Acevedo lay out the rhythmic landscape that is the foundation for the inventive vistas the pianist conjures.
The CD is bookended by Afro-Cuban based pieces. The first, "Salsicle," is truly an outstanding piece of modern jazz, using heated up-beats and a stance completely contemporary, with attractive, modally saturated piano chords…