By Geno Thackara, All About Jazz
Though Andy Milne actually hasn’t recorded in the classic trio format before, you’d never know it just from The Re:Mission. He’s been no slouch in many other settings, from supporting Cassandra Wilson or Steve Coleman to the genre-mashingly ambitious Dapp Theory quintet. Having always had a dream of trying this particular classic format, and invigorated after a 2018 fight with cancer (hence the title), he decided it was finally time to form a working group and take the plunge. This cheerful session shows Milne’s skills undimmed and how happy he is to bounce back -a promising first trio outing and hopefully far from his last. He settles comfortably into this smaller-than-usual combo without feeling any unnecessary pressure to fill in any space. The disc is bookended with fresh colorful takes on two well-traveled standards, while the all-original program in between puts his breadth of imagination on colorful display. Read the full review here.