(Avant-Garde Jazz) Vinnie Sperrazza - Juxtaposition - 2017, MP3, 320 kbps

The most intriguing thing about Juxtaposition, Vinnie Sperrazza's recently released recording, is its loose grip on the jazz tradition. The disc's twelve tracks don't come with a set of standard, recognizable references. Not unlike many of today's leading young artists, Sperrazza has absorbed the lessons of the music's past, and is currently interested in doing things on his own terms instead of dwelling in the accomplishments of his elders. The other essential aspect of the record is it's overall disposition the antithesis of the dense, loud, unyielding ethos that's increasingly common across the spectrum of jazz and improvised music. Sperrazza, the composer of nine of the tracks, pens refined, distinctive themes that sometimes hint of something left unsaid. A band consisting Sperrazza's drums, tenor saxophonist Chris Speed, pianist Bruce Barth, and bassist Peter Brendler produce an enclosed sound that often feels like a collection of interiors. (While listening to most of the tracks I frequently wondered if the music could survive the noisy distractions common to many live performance spaces.)