Ambrose Akinmusire - When the Heart Emerges Glistening (EMI 2011)

For his octave-vaulting lines and incandescent high-end tones, 28-year-old California-born trumpeter Ambrose Akinmusire suggests connections with Norwegian ambient-brass virtuoso Arve Henriksen. But this is Americanjazz, and the newcomer already sounds like a redefining force in that sphere. Akinmusire honed his craft with sax trailblazer Steve Coleman, and this music echoes that, and also the work of the album's producer, Jason Moran. But Akinmusire's arresting sound and the collective strength of his band of long-time friends – the dry-toned, Wayne Shorter-like saxophonist Walter Smith III, pianist Gerald Clayton, bassist Harish Raghavan and drummer Justin Brown – power it all. Passages of minimally accompanied trumpet are masterpieces of patient development, as is the ensemble ballad Henya, with its deliberate, slow-blown dissonance in an otherwise mellifluous theme. Akinmusire's empathy with tenorist Smith gives an updated Miles Davis/Wayne Shorter atmosphere to jolting faster pieces such as Jaya, and the bass and drums pairing nails everything with steely relish. Get used to pronouncing ah-kin-MOO-sir-ee: we're all going to be saying it a lot.


John Fordham guardian.co.uk