Steve Lehman-Dialect Fluorescent (Pi Recordings 2012)

What makes Dialect Fluorescent so striking is how Lehman burnishes both original compositions and standard repertoire with a modernistic sheen. Hearing Lehman’s cutting-edge pieces like “Allocentric” and “Foster Brothers” alongside “Moment’s Notice” and “Mr. E” not only shows Lehman’s connection to the past but, more importantly, it highlights the legacy of John Coltrane and Jackie McLean as boundary-breaking conceptualists. The music on Dialect Fluorescent is electrified by Lehman’s trio, which has been performing all over the United States and Europe since 2007. Throughout the album, Damion Reid displays an intricately dynamic conception of the modern drum set, rooted in his apprenticeship under Billy Higgins and his early experiences with Terence Blanchard and Robert Hurst, among others. Matt Brewer may be the only young bassist who can fly around his instrument like a horn player and still produce an incredibly big and propulsive sound. Whether performing the Duke Pearson classic “Jeannine” or Lehman’s labyrinthine “Alloy,” Brewer and Reid create a striking, contemporary sound that transforms all of the material on the album, making it feel totally connected.
Pi Recordings