Japan-born/N.Y.C.-based trumpeter 's debut, 2014's , is a funky, soul and hip-hop-infused affair featuring production from acclaimed jazz vocalist . Longtime collaborators, and met while students at Manhattan's New School for Jazz and Contemporary Music, and later toured with and wrote the horn arrangements for his 2012 album, . Technically, is 's fourth album after three previous independent releases that found him working through a more swinging, post-bop jazz sound, with the occasional funk-inflected diversion. On , delves deep into a '70s fusion, funk, and Afro-beat-influenced sound that is at once contemporary and vintage in approach. In many ways, the sound of has a lot in common with ' own soul-jazz style, and his guest spot on ' "Everybody Loves the Sunshine" is certainly a highlight of the album. However, while there is palpable synergistic energy at play between , it's 's assured, dynamic trumpet playing that grabs the spotlight on . Backing here is his working ensemble featuring trombonist , Rhodes keyboardist , bassist , and drummer . Together, and his band play a clipped, muscular funk-jazz that shows the influence of artists like African-legend and trumpeter . Tracks like the Latin-tinged "Mala" and the frenetic "Afro Blues" (which showcases a guest appearance by famed West African guitarist ) are hypnotic, pulsing, and joyous. Many of the songs on have a modern, dance-ready sheen to them, with pushing the drums to the front of the mix and cradling 's horns in a rounded, almost phaser-like mike sound. While some hip-hop-influenced jazz can seem rhythmically static, sacrificing improvisation for beats, the tracks on never get too smooth. leaves just enough organic grit in the mix to remind you that that this is live, improvisational music, not that you'd forget with bursting through many of these cuts with a puckered intensity. And while this is unquestionably a jazz album, nothing on feels like an intellectual harmonic exercise, as so many recordings by post-collegiate jazz artists sometimes do. Whether further illuminating the soul of , or slipping ever deeper into the romantic slow jam of his own "Sometime Somewhere Somehow," reveals himself to be a gifted melodicist with an abiding trust in groove, not to mention trumpet chops and charisma to spare. Ultimately, isn't just 's major-label debut, it's a major artistic statement. ~ Matt Collar