Pianist Chris Parker's Late In Lisbon, which consists of ten of his originals, gets off to a particularly strong start with a heated and tricky 36-bar calypso number, Calypso Facto, which features fluent and spirited solos from Peter Epstein on soprano sax, Parker, and violinist Rob Thomas. While The Chimney is funky, The Return (which finds Epstein in top form on alto) is driving and has a catchy forward momentum stated by bassist Tony Marino. Under The Bridge has plenty of fire, while the title track, Late In Lisbon, is a bit reminiscent of Chick Corea's post-Return To Forever work, and The Thought Of Seeing You is a melancholy ballad. The Long Way Around has a catchy groove not too far from Freedom Jazz Dance, and the extended There's Been A Slight Change Of Plans features a mysterious and oddly appealing groove. Night Song is introspective, and the closing Passage is an upbeat groover. Throughout this set, the consistently colorful solos of Parker, Epstein and Thomas, with fine backup work from Marino, drummer Marko Marcinko, and (on two numbers) percussionist Bob Velez, makes this a particularly strong and memorable release of fairly accessible modern jazz. ~ Scott Yanow, Rovi

1		Calypso Facto
2		The Chimney
3		The Return
4		Under The Bridge
5		Late In Lisbon
6		The Thought of Seeing You
7		The Long Way Around
8		There's Been a Slight Change of Plans
9		Night Song
10		Passage

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