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Josephine Davies’ Satori

★★★★

In The Corners Of The Clouds

WHIRLWIND. CD/DL/LP

The first-takes on Satori’s second LP have a winning immediacy. Whether conjuring Wabi Sabi’s smoky suspense or the title track’s moody balladry, Davies’s tenor skills are on-point. Coltrane’s ghost hovers above Song Of The Dancing Saint’s mournful curves, while bassist Dave Whitford and drummer James Maddren ensure space also has its place.

Ben Wendel

★★★

The Seasons

MOTÉMA MUSIC. CD/DL/LP

Wendel’s fourth solo LP started life as a series of online video duets in 2015. The Kneebody saxman occasionally lifts the Tchaikovsky melodies that first inspired him, but they rapidly evaporate amid March’s crying sadness, August’s loungy haze or December’s happy/sad lyrical turmoil, as his rich tones bounce against pianist Aaron Parks’ splashy atmospherics. Not all months are created equal – The Seasons flags a little in the fall.

Adam Hopkins

★★★★

Crickets

OUT OF YOUR HEAD. CD/DL/LP

Hopkins’ debut unpacks a thrill-aminute suite rooted in grunge, indie and punk. Whether evoking its smothering tide of titular insects or a quacking raft of ducks, this bass-playing Henry Threadgill protégé marshals the triple sax attack of Anna Webber, Ed Rosenberg and Josh Sinton as songs veer off-piste and dally down unpredictable paths, only to twist into oblique yet bracingly accessible patterns.

Lionel Loueke

★★★

The Journey

APARTÉ MUSIC. CD/DL/LP

Breezy atmospherics abound on this latest from the boundary-breaking Benin singer/ guitarist. In 15 personal songs he takes stock of his African heritage, using sparse backings to embrace lilting melodics (Molika), clipclopping world fusions (Mandé), stringy ballads (Hope) and koraimitating études (Guira). Lovingly undercut by the rhythmic sensibilities of Christi Joza Orisha and Brazilian berimbau king Cyro Baptista, The Journey further underlines Loueke’s unique status. AC