ALBUM REVIEWS : *** GREG OSBY “Season of Renewal” <i> JMT</i>

Saxophonist Osby is a leading figure in Brooklyn’s M-Base collective, a group of young players seeking to blend electronics, contemporary funk and world music influences with serious jazz improvising. This album pulls that tricky amalgam off pretty well--the rhythm section leaves enough holes for the sound to veer clear of mechanical funk and the arrangements are spacious enough to effectively showcase Osby’s darting alto bursts and tone color-conscious approach to soprano. On “Enchantment” and “Dream X,” guest vocalists Amina Claudine Myers and Cassandra Wilson help create a dreamy, otherworldly aura that demonstrate Osby’s ability to craft melodies in the ethereal vein of early Weather Report.