The collaborative spirit of the recording is clear from the start. On the opening track, "Journey Around My Room," Williams helps kick off the number, but the song expands into a piano solo about a minute and a half in, and then transitions into a sax solo before it makes its way back to the vocalist.
The cornerstones of the post-bop group are bassist Mark Z. Saltman and pianist William A. Knowles. They met while studying composition at the University of Massachusetts. They shared a love of writing songs, which lead to their first recording in 1995. Some may remember them as Soulservice.
In the liner notes of their latest release, they share a list of the things they like. Coffee, "Battlestar Galactica" (the new one), and Billy Strayhorn make the list. They also provide a list of their dislikes. There’s only one entry: music without melodies.
All 10 songs, mostly mid-tempo tunes, are originals. Like the title says, the songs are about the melody. The music is fluid, tasteful, and contemporary, and there’s plenty of strong solo work throughout the CD.
Charles Langford on sax and Mark Prince on drums round out the group.
