***John Lindberg Ensemble

BOUNCE

(Black Saint)

Bassist John Lindberg, an unheralded master if there ever was one, has released another creative gem. A consistently imaginative composer-arranger, and a virtuoso instrumentalist, he is also a leader of stellar bands, including his latest quartet with trumpeter Dave Douglas, saxophonist Larry Ochs, and drummer Ed Thigpen. Lindberg's compositions display both classical and jazz leanings with equal measure as they roam through a catholic range of jazz idioms, from the hard-swinging title track to the pointillist free group improvisations on "Eleven Thrice." Douglas is in exceptional form throughout, especially when he's blending his own wide spectrum of tone colors with Lindberg's on the opening "Firewood Duet," and intertwining his lines in counterpoint with Lindberg on "Fortune on a Sphere." Larry Ochs joins the trio on the title track and "Eleven Thrice," adding gritty textures and a wilder emotional edge to the more-contained trio. And the veteran Thigpen swings gamely no matter what context Lindberg's music thrusts him into.

-- Ed Hazell