Wykoff

Tenor saxophonist and clarinetist Matt Bauder is one of those young musicains who has an equal capacity to play in and out of the formal idiomatic conventions. When with Memorize the Sky he goes out, profiting from his studies with the innovative composers Anthony Braxton, Alvin Lucier and Ron Kuivila. Conversely, his band Day in Pictures (now reformed by replacing Angelica Sanchez for Kris Davis) operates completely in jazz domains, and does it very much according to the tradition. The truth is that the jazz tradition has defined a space for freedom right from the start, and Bauder is a master of combining that freedom with form.

The debut of vocalist Robin McKelle is a throwback to an earlier era, when singers were backed by big bands as they sang songs destined to become standards. Although McKelle doesn't break new ground in her interpretations of this material and doesn't take many chances, she is an expressive performer, opening with an exuberant, slightly breathy "Something's Gotta Give," followed by an enchanting cha cha treatment of "Bei Mir Bist Du Schoen." Vocalist Robbie Wykoff joins her for her a duet of "You've Brought a New Kind of Love to Me." She's clearly having fun in "Yes, My Darling Daughter," a forgotten number from the big band era, with a brief detour into a Latin setting.