Cadwallader Asetta & Dixson - Sweet Perfume In An Alabaster Jar (2012)

This long-awaited new release by the extraordinary jazz trio of Rex Cadwallader, Mike Asetta, and Arti Dixson aptly demonstrates the continued distillation of the individual talents of these superb musicians into a rare musical vintage. This is an album of beauty and depth, soul and grace; it is to be tasted and savored unhurriedly, with the foreknowledge that full appreciation of its complexities will be most clearly apparent to a patient and discerning listener. 

The group’s previous release “Quicker Than The Eye” in 2005 was met with both critical acclaim, and skepticism from elements of the jazz community less eager to embrace jazz that had hints of the “smooth,” the “electronic.” Unlike that CD, however, this is a purely acoustic journey, one which the more mainstream aficionados may embrace. 

Like Ellington and Coltrane, Cadwallader has written a large library of spiritual music. The selections on this album spring from a monthly “jazz vespers” service, a time in the liturgical day that elicits contemplation and a powerful sense of inner peace.

The addition of soprano Tiffany Jackson, whose strikingly beautiful voice on four tracks is truly breathtaking, allows the group to literally invent a new kind of music. The juxtaposition of Jackson’s classically trained voice with the trio’s free improvisation brings a new understanding and approach to the four spirituals represented. This is a groundbreaking effort by these highly creative musicians, sure to attract attention from a wide and varied audience.
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