If you are one of those restless wanderers who is searching high and low for easy listening, look elsewhere. If, on the other hand, you are drawn to music that is more or less off the beaten path and challenges your mind and spirit, composer / arranger / trombonist Ed Neumeister‘s new album may well serve as the anomalous Wake Up Call you’ve been waiting for. It takes no more than a few moments of listening to the labyrinthine, through-composed opener, “Birds of Prey,” to ascertain that this is not your parents’ big-band jazz. There’s nary a taste of Basie, Herman, Kenton or Rich on this bill of fare.
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