Sound Suggestions

Charles Mingus band veteran George Adams made only one album for ECM, and it’s a stunner. Sharing the studio with some of the label’s stalwarts (trumpeter Kenny Wheeler, pianist Richie Beirach, bassist Dave Holland, and drummer Jack DeJohnette) and fellow tenorist Heinz Sauer, his fire gives way to gradations of heat all the way down to cool. “Imani’s Dance” and “Stay Informed” are interlocking gems, while “Got Somethin’ Good For You” finds Adams taking mouth from reed to sing the blues. Tight doesn’t even begin to describe what’s going on here.