*** Ken Schaphorst

PURPLE

(Naxos)

Composer Ken Schaphorst writes beautiful melodies, to be sure, but it's what he does with them that makes him a composer and not just a tunesmith. He subjects his themes to reharmonizations, colorful orchestrations, and a variety of different rhythmic treatments to create pieces that are wide-ranging yet unified.

The charts on Purple, his fourth album, range from twisting post-bop numbers like "Bounce" and "Blues Almighty" to uncategorizable sound pieces like "Bats" to the Afro-Caribbean-flavored "My Island." His writing leaves plenty of room for soloists, and as a consequence he always attracts a strong cast to play his music. This album features an extended workout for tenor-saxophonist Donny Mc- Caslin on "Uprising," an outrageous cubist soul-blues rave-up from organist John Medeski on "Blues Almighty," and a lyrical statement from pianist Uri Caine on the title track. Schaphorst's charts preserve the best of the past while looking fearlessly ahead to the future.

-- Ed Hazell