Harold Alexander - Sunshine Man (2016)

Harold Alexander's Sunshine Man exists somewhere in the space between jazz-funk and free improvisation. Produced by Bob Thiele, the record combines Alexander's intricate, abstract melodies with the wickedly tight drumming of the great Bernard "Pretty" Purdie to create music with both profoundly spiritual and resolutely physical dimensions. Each of the record's six long songs shun direct paths from points A to B, instead coveting the eccentric twists and hairpin turns of roads less traveled, but the cosmic reach of Alexander's flute and soprano saxophone never dwarfs the rock-solid support of Purdie and keyboardist Neal Creque. Sunshine Man is the rare record that's both far-out and funky.