Anthony Branker & Imagine - Beauty Within (CD)

The music of composer Anthony Branker stands firmly on jazz traditions while simultaneously pushing the boundaries in bold and beautiful new directions. For his seventh release for Origin Records, Branker features brilliant new works as performed by longtime collaborator & saxophonist Ralph Bowen, guitarist Pete McCann, pianist Fabian Almazan, bassist Linda Oh, and drummer Rudy Royston. Branker's new ensemble, Imagine, takes his expansive compositional vision and infuses it with passionate performances drenched with lyrical flow and dexterous rhythmic interplay. Truly a fascinating and exceptional recording from an imaginative composer."Honing a hybrid of freewheeling postbop and social commentary, abetted by judicious dollops of funk, fusion, spoken word, clave and polyrhythmic percussion Branker incorporates these elements in broad, bold strokes, like a muralist. He has yet to make a bad record." - JazzTimes