On
Adonis Rose
's second recording as a leader, the New Orleans-based drummer performs with the same musicians on his first recording, his bandmates in
the Nicholas Payton Quintet
. This time
Rose
,
Payton
, tenor saxophonist
Tim Warfield
, pianist
Anthony Wonsey
, and bassist
Reuben Rogers
perform three
originals, one by
Wonsey
, two by
Wayne Shorter
, and one standard. As one would expect from a working band, the music is well-played, covering a variety of styles and tempos within the
post-bop
idiom, with
staying mostly in the background, with one notable exception being his explosive drum solo on the angular, up-tempo
"Tonk,"
written by
for his younger brother. Other favorites include the hard-hitting
free bop
of
Shorter
's
"Dolores,"
and two beautiful ballads, the title track and
"I Remember You,"
a feature for
's trumpet. The recording ends with
's funky
"Smooth Jazz,"
which owes more to '60s
Blue Note
than to that radio-friendly music genre. This is a very good step forward in this musician's development. ~ Greg Turner