WOW!

At fgitst, this sounds like John Moulder's session.  He carries the melody and rides the slalom-like harmonic changes with unusual sureness and grace.  But no, Larry Gray's the leader, wrote the tunes, skis the drifts with equal assurance, and has his fair shar of solo time.  Charles Heath completes the trio with the assertive, yet supportive style of many of today's best drummers.

The prospects weren't promising—a rare combo mix, mostly original tunes, relatively unknown musicians, and a Scandinavian recording label. Shudder. The last group of young Northern Europeans I'd heard had me torn between boredom and suicide. Surprise! The trio sound works, the originals are strong, the musicians are first class, and the audio quality is just fine.  

Electronic whiiiiiiiine! Clatter! Softer whiiine. Clopping of an uncoordinated, seven-legged pony. Screeech! Scrunch. Electronic drone. Yada, yada, yada. If that's your idea of either fun or how to extend the possibilities of trumpet playing, you'll love this album. Otherwise, for all but the most open minded-- or gullible-- this is noise. If you doubt my judgement, visit the Carrier Records site. It says, "We believe in noise."

Vertical starts out with "Some Days," a light-hearted fast samba featuring fluffy flute and romantic guitar. Not a big surprise; guitarist Sandro Albert was born in Brazil and singer Milton Nascimento is a major influence. But as the session proceeds, though Albert remains in South America, he's not always on Rio's sunny beach. Turns out Heitor Villa Lobos was another major influence, and this album owes as much to that classical composer as to Nascimento or Antonio Carlos Jobim. Track six is "O