Green-Wood CD

Winner of the 1999 Thelonious Monk International Jazz Composers Award, pianist/keyboardist James Carney moved from LA to NYC in 2004 and proceeded to put together his dream group featuring a 4-horn frontline: two old friends from his student days at CalArts, Peter Epstein and Ralph Alessi, and new acquaintances Tony Malaby and Josh Roseman, plus Chris Lightcap on bass and Mark Ferber on drums. The music is beautifully crafted and intensely grooving in various feels, from second line and funk to 6/4 and complex time signatures. Inspired by the whole tradition, Carney's aesthetic unites the jazz mainstream and avant-garde, blending musical derring-do with a post-bop-meets-chamber-music-and-rock lyricism. His guys deliver with individuality and relish, while the 24/88.2 recording and a cool surround mix make the most of ear-catching voicings, timbres and textures.