For L.A. pianist/composer Carney's second CD, it's more of the same modern jazz which he so adeptly displayed on his debut Fables from the Aqueduct. Tracks alternate between piano-led, romantic, impressionistic, ECM-like pieces and the highly composed and arranged group works that border on stunning. These two aspects let Carney show his mettle as a player and as a leader. Both sides are attractive, marking him as one of the more original younger musicians emerging in the '90s. Pieces like Swamp Rookie, Quinn Martin and Photo Op have a New Orleans shuffle feel, while Rookie, Tipperary Hill and Breaking the Beckets incorporate Irish jig elements in their complex melodic statements. The twisting, whirling dervish frantic melody of Rookie, settling into the shuffle for improvisation and buliding and swelling back to the theme, as well as the lugubrious, bass clarinet-fired Quinn and the deep, heavy Beckets, highlight one of the more enjoyable programs of contemporary jazz this writer has heard in many a year. Carney's crew is also quite talented. Trumpeter Ralph Alessi, saxophonists Peter Epstein, Chuck Manning, Scott Mayo and Bob Sheppard (especially on bass clarinet,) bassist Darek Oleszkiewicz, and drummer Dan Morris read and play the music extraordinarily well. There is no excess or filler. Carney himself is light when he wants, forceful when he has to be, subtle and bluesy when he chooses. He himself, in this democratic ensemble, is not as distinctive as the witty, meaty, mighty music he is creating and sharing. Quite a solid date, as hopes rise anticipating the third release from one of the brightest lights on the new jazz scene. ~ Michael G. Nastos, Rovi

1		Miracle Mile
2		Swamp Rookie
3		Tipperary Hill
4		Quinn Martin
5		Lexicon
6		Photo Op
7		Last Call at the West Lake Inn
8		Faux Pas
9		Yoknapatawpha
10		Breaking the Beckets
11		All the Things They Were

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