Corduroy Road

Bassist Tom Warrington and his team of guitarist Larry Koonse and drummer Joe LaBarbera are longtime West Coast musicians who co-founded the Jazz Compass label in hopes of bringing more intellectual jazz to the public. If Corduroy Road is any indication, they've succeeded winningly. Fans of ECM-style jazz will find much to enjoy on this mellow and thoughtful album. Koonse's guitar work is reminiscent of both Bill Frisell and Pat Martino, and complements Warrington's melodic and rounded basslines. These guys seem to be really listening to each other, and let their sounds mingle like threads of a warm blanket. Standards such as "You Must Believe in Spring" and "You Stepped Out of a Dream" fit comfortably alongside more progressive Warrington originals such as the elliptical "Tangents" and folky "Corduroy Road."