Product Review

Rising tenor saxophone star & 2013 Thelonious Monk International Jazz Competition winner (first female instrumentalist & first South American in the history of the competition) Melissa Aldana releases her second trio album (and fourth as a leader), unveiling powerful music by herself and her illustrious bandmates with the explorative and deeply swinging "Back Home". Pablo Menares, Aldana's fellow native of Santiago, Chile, is on acoustic bass. On drums is the in- demand Jochen Rueckert, bringing a supple and unpredictable rhythmic élan to the session. These three musicians turn on a dime and project an uncommonly full orchestral sound, rich in spiritual intensity, all in the absence of a harmony instrument. "Back Home" was recorded at Sear Sound in NYC on June 6+7, 2015. It was engineered by James Farber and mastered by Greg Calbi, two of the top recording engineers in the world. The end result is a intimate, full-bodied sound, with exceptional clarity, expanse and color.