Craig Brann - Lineage (2018)

A beautifully sweet setting for guitarist Craig Brann – a player who's always been great before, but who really seems to be opening up some new modes here! The album's got this wonderfully rhythmic core – songs that swing, but in a very contemporary way – and which make use of Brann's guitar at a level that's far beyond more familiar guitar jazz material! The rhythm trio – Ethan Herr on piano, Nick Morrison on bass, and Cory Cox on drums – are really doing some amazing things here, as they snatch grooves out of the air, then reconstruct them in different building blocks of sound – a mode that must also be due to Brann's nice range of original material on the set. Some tunes begin with the leader playing these solo passages with surprising deftness – almost evoking the complexity of Spanish guitar – and trumpeter John Raymond completes the group for an added layer of color. Titles include "Dilla Daze", "Copy", "Verdict", "Good Intentions", "Reinventing Something Round", "Five Percent Of My Life Thus Far", and "Dozen The Swan's Hound".

Tracklist:
01. Craig Brann - Dilla Daze
02. Craig Brann - Basso Continuo
03. Craig Brann - Copy
04. Craig Brann - Teely-Teely
05. Craig Brann - Für Beccah (Prelude)
06. Craig Brann - Good Intentions
07. Craig Brann - Verdict
08. Craig Brann - Reinventing Something Round
09. Craig Brann - Dozen the Swan's Hound (Lie Kiss Coat Hewn)
10. Craig Brann - 5 Percent of My Life Thus Far
11. Craig Brann - Empty