Jim Rotondi - The Pleasure Dome (2004)

Firebrand trumpeter Jim Rotondi is back for his second Sharp Nine outing with a burning quintet that features the blues-drenched bebop altoist Jesse Davis and the first-call rhythm section of pianist David Hazeltine, bassist Ray Drummond and drummer Joe Farnsworth. Session highlights include two powerful Rotondi originals -- "On Y Va" (Let's Go) and "The Pleasure Dome," plus a signature Hazeltine arrangement of "The Breeze and I" and Donald Byrd's rarely heard, blues inflected "Hush." Rotondi gets exceptionally strong solo efforts from Davis and Hazeltine, but in the end it his tremendous facility and bravura conception that make this date an especially hard-swinging, crowd-pleasing affair.