CD

Brian Lynch, 24/7 (Nagel Heyer). I just caught up with this 2002 album. Lynch teams his trumpet with Miguel Zenon's alto saxophone. The two of them groove with a fine rhythm section of pianist Rick Germanson, bassist Hans Glawischnig and drummer Neal Smith. Everyone plays well on the originals by band members, but the prize tracks are Jerome Kern's "Nobody Else but Me" Louis Armstrong's "West End Blues" and Ellington's barely-known ballad "Azalea." In the Kern, Lynch, using a tight mute, is quick and lyrical (yes, those qualities can go together). In "West End Blues," he nails Armstrong's cadenza opening and observes the original arrangement, then he, Zenon and Germanson (keep an eye on him) play stunning extended solos before wrapping it up with the celebrated 1928 Armstrong tag.