Akinmusire Ambrose

Trumpeter and composer Ambrose Akinmusire returns with the release of the imagined savior is far easier to paint , an impressive and expansive new album that broadens the palette of his quintet with the addition of guitarist Charles Altura, the OSSO String Quartet, and vocalists Becca Stevens, Theo Bleckmann, and Cold Specks. Akinmusire s quintet features saxophonist Walter Smith III, pianist Sam Harris, bassist Harish Raghavan, and drummer Justin Brown, a close-knit group of collaborators that breathe a remarkable collective identity.

Critic Ann Powers wrote that Ambrose wowed jazz fans with the focused intelligence of his 2011 Blue Note Records debut. For this new effort, he goes wide, expanding his ensemble to include vocalists, a string quartet, and the adventurous guitarist Charles Altura. This music is not for chickens it's heady, intense, and demanding. But it's also accessible in the most important ways, making room for the listener to get lost in its byways.