The reputation of the California-born improviser Joe Locke used to rest on the dynamism and lyricism he brought to the sometimes anonymous character of the vibraphone, but the noughties saw him blossom as a composer of imaginative postbop, extended suites and even a symphonic work. A five-part suite (based on the stanzas of a love poem by New York writer and singer Barbara Sfraga) is the centrepiece of this session for a Locke band expanded by saxes, guitar, steel pans and vocals. Though it occasionally feels pulled between faintly twee rock-ballad themes and the urge to let an ensemble of A-list jazzers rip, Locke disciples will find plenty to admire here. The through-composed Variation on Wisdom veers toward the portentous, but fast-walking uptempo groovers such as Love Is Perpetual Motion and the stop-start swinger Last Ditch Wisdom bring fine solos from all the participants, and there are blazing solos from saxist Rosario Giuliani, Locke and pianist Roberto Rodriguez. It’s a fiery postbop album sometimes a little constricted by its literary wardrobe.
