High Note Records has been on a roll in 2008. Larry Willis and David Fathead Newman have both issued near career-defining statements on the label in 2008 -- and that's just naming two. To this illustrious duo add trombonist and composer Steve Turre, whose Rainbow People album -- his self-produced third release for the imprint -- may be the finest offering of his career as a leader. Turre surrounds himself with likeminded musicians he's played with in various ensembles through the years: drummer Ignacio Berroa, who worked with Turre in Dizzy Gillespie's United Nations Orchestra; pianist Mulgrew Miller and saxophonist Kenny Garrett, who worked with Turre in Woody Shaw's fine band; bassist Peter Washington, who played with Turre in the Jazz Messengers; and Turre's discovery in the young trumpeter Sean Jones, who was hired on the spot after the trombonist saw him play at a gig in New York. Guest percussionist Pedro Martinez is also in the house; he's worked with Turre in his Latin bands. The program contains six Turre originals, as well as a killer reading of Charlie Parker's Segment, McCoy Tyner's Search for Peace, and bassist Steve Kirby's Cleopatra's Needle. The unhurried and unforced swing of this band is evident from the opening title cut. With its knotty, mantra-like Latin groove, Turre and Garrett take the head into minor-key blues and Afro-Rican soul before coming up with a stretched harmonic cadenza that announces Turre's solo. Miller plays off Berroa's double- and triple-time breaks and fills on the ride cymbal and hi-hat. All the while, Washington struts that vamp into the heart of the multi-textured mystery at the center. Garrett's solo picks up right on its tail and, as evidenced by his own last album, Beyond the Wall, he's playing the best saxophone of his career. His alto is snaky and stretched, and flawlessly digs into the minor-key changes and accents the rhythms at the end of his long, angular lines. The late-night bluesy soul of Brother Ray echoes not only the late singer and bandleader's own sense of evoking gospel and barroom dynamics, but also his sense of the emotional undercurrent in his music. Turre is like a singer himself on his 'bone; he gets into the meat of his notes in both verse and chorus -- before breaking off into an extended jam with the band -- with Ray's sense of phrasing just behind the beat. Miller's piano solo is pure ivory enunciation; his blues articulation is pure and gritty, but so technically astute that he adds colors and hues to the tune, making it shine.

1		Rainbow People
2		Forward Vision
3		Brother Ray
4		Groove Blues
5		Midnight In Madrid
6		Cleopatra's Needle
7		Search for Peace
8		Segment
9		Para el Comandante