Snooze in Bloomington, MN

Pianist
Joanne Brackeen
's debut album (after a barely documented period with
Art Blakey
's Jazz Messengers) is a very impressive effort. Teamed with bassist
Cecil McBee
and drummer
Billy Hart
,
Brackeen
plays in a complex and already original style, interpreting four of her tunes plus
"Nefertiti,"
Miles Davis
's "Circles" and "Old Devil Moon." Her chord voicings are thick and sometimes quite dense, but this music is strangely accessible. ~ Scott Yanow