ALBUM REVIEWS

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MARCUS ROBERTS

“Deep in the Shed”, RCA Novus

This is an all blues album, or so says pianist Roberts; it depends on how strictly one construes the term. What his writing (for a three- or four-horn band) gains in diversity of moods, modes and meters, it loses now and then in true blues soul. In fact, he has gone so deep into the woodshed that experimentation sometimes takes precedence over celebration. Still, it’s an intriguing example of his evolution as a composer. Wessell Anderson’s alto sax brings to “Nebuchadnezzar” the flavor of Ellington, or what Duke might be writing had he survived and advanced. “E. Dankworth” is a strong cut, thanks to the inventive trumpeter for whom it was named.

Albums are rated on a scale of one star (poor) to five stars (a classic).