Michael Adkins, tenor saxophone; John Hébert, bass; Ian Froman, drums. Recorded May 2000, released March 2005. New York-based tenor saxophonist Michael Adkins recorded this delightfully vivid album in a trio setting way back in May 2000. It was his début album, recorded on indie-label Semblance Records. Having picked up saxophone as a kid in Ontario and playing in local bands and studying with the local talent by age 15, he moved to Boston and formal studies at Berklee music school. He then moved to New York City and strived to develop his technique, playing with many jazz improvisers from the international arena. He has recorded on a number of independent projects including Harry Potter movies and has worked with Avishai Cohen, Matthew Garrison and Mat Maneri among others. The album never fails to swing, as any good album must, but it offers much more than that. The solo playing is exceptional and the tenor excels at articulating both its sumptuousness and its authority in a performance that also reveals what group dynamics can do for timing, flexibility and improvisation. The tenor man wrote all of the tunes and the music expresses so many possible aspects to a mise en scène of poignant yet challenging gradations of mood, coupled with a distinctive and very high level of interaction, that one has to say that the composer and trio together have produced an exciting album of original music that is truly worthy of its roots. It is a really great find of new music and it is beautiful. Reviewed by Ken Cheetham

For every John Coltrane, there is a Hank Mobley; every Dizzy Gillespie has a Dizzy Reece. Not every tenor saxophonist can be Joe Lovano these days, especially when so very few listeners follow current jazz happenings. Players like Lovano and tenor saxophonist Michael Adkins, who are technically adept at their instrument, tend to take a back seat to either the innovative avant types or those who play caramelized pop. When an artist like Michael Adkins releases a disc like Infotation, no alarms go off. He doesn’t perform with a DJ or invite a guest vocalist. He just plays eight original tracks with his trio. The music is immediately agreeable and gratifying. You can suggest his playing comes from early Sonny Rollins, with a large sound that is comfortable like a favorite sweater. Repeated spins of this 2000 session knit together a fine swing with a relaxed bop manner. Adkins, born in Ontario, plays behind the beat on the title track, suggesting Rollins again but also a bit of Coleman Hawkins. All the while drummer Ian Froman churns the waters. Simple sessions like this one, with three players working in such unison, are quite special. Besides the title track, “Tres Olive” features Adkins’ partners, Froman and bassist John Hebert, exercising the pulse as the saxophonist strolls outward. The groove here and throughout is subversively simple. This just happens to be one fine jazz recording!