For Brass Reality, trumpet virtuoso Paul Smoker brings together some of his peers for a session that explores the extensive possibilities of brass. Each of the hornmen has a sound that can fill a concert hall and a range that extends from the underworld to the heavens. Within that massive reach, Smoker, multi-instrumentalist Herb Robertson, and trombonist David Taylor command a full catalog of devices -- smears, growls, eerie sung notes. And if that's not enough, Taylor has a penchant for accenting his lines with vocal yips. Percussionist Phil Haynes complements all this with a full palette of rumbles, splashes, and cracks, always responding to the directional shifts of the horn players. His free-flowing grooves propel the swirling horn lines. Smoker's compositions probe dark and complex emotions. Waltz catches the quartet at its most characteristic, opening with the swish of Haynes' brushes and Taylor playing a riff that ranges over three octaves. Each player then steps forward to make a distinctive statement. Alice's Legacy shows Smoker's writing at its most picturesque. It opens and closes with a mariachi strain, festive when it first appears, a lament when it comes back at the close. In between, Robertson and Smoker exchange outbursts that manipulate thematic germs in an intricate duet that sounds like a 21st century version of a King Oliver-Louis Armstrong break. Though Brass Reality is different in so many ways from its precursor, at its heart it is just as celebratory. ~ David Dupont, Rovi

1		Solo Prelude
2		Fractals, Pt. 1
3		Waltz
4		Fanfare and Procession
5		Harmon City
6		Phil's Blues
7		Alice's Legacy
8		Fractals, Pt. 2
9		Coda: Brass Reality

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