Harvesting Semblances and Affinities Pi Recordings****

Altoist, composer and M-Base veteran Steve Coleman has long drawn musical inspiration from astrological connections; others that stir his endlessly curious spirit here include ideas of carnal and psychic energy, the seasons, 13th-century mysticism and the capture of universal natural truths. He alchemises the responses to these philosophical notions into dramatically cohesive, complex, structured performances, unlike anything else in jazz, while actively encouraging intuition and spontaneity. His gifted colleagues – Jonathan Finlayson (trumpet), Tim Albright (trombone), the astonishing Jen Shyu (voice), Thomas Morgan (bass) and Tyshawn Sorey (drums) – buy remarkably into his concepts to produce a music both abstract and viscerally lyrical, fluid and unified, in which ensemble considerations take precedence over soloists without excluding them. See pirecordings.com