On Chris Dingman's sophomore album, 2015's The Subliminal and the Sublime, the creative jazz vibraphonist/composer finds inspiration in nature, and the result is an often stunning album of both grand gestures and detailed, percolating undercurrents. Featuring alto saxophonist Loren Stillman, pianist Fabian Almazan, guitarist Ryan Ferreira, bassist Linda Oh, and drummer Justin Brown, Dingman's sextet displays true mastery of wide dynamics across a suite whose extended-form movements culminate in strikingly dramatic fashion. Opener "Tectonic Plates" begins with high singing tones and chordal volume swells, creating an ethereal ambience over which Stillman introduces a calm melody, briefly joined by sharper yet still understated support from the other bandmembers to close this lovely four-and-a-half-minute intro. But the album is dominated by its three lengthy movements in the 16-minute (the concluding "All Flows Forth") to nearly 20-minute ("The Pinnacles") range, starting with the second track, "Voices of the Ancient." This 17-and-a-half-minute piece begins with an evocative, spare chord sequence from Almazan, whose piano is complemented by the ringing call of Ferreira's distant six-string and the bell-like clarity of Dingman's vibes. After Oh and Brown enter, Stillman steps out thematically and then launches a brief solo, limber yet attractively economical, before Dingman's own glistening turn in the spotlight draws his bandmates momentarily into more freewheeling territory.

1		Tectonic Plates
2		Voices of the Ancient
3		Plea
4		The Pinnacles
5		All Flows Forth

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