Label: Sunnyside Records, 2021

Personnel - Hank Roberts: cello; Dana Lyn: violin; Brian Drye: trombone; Mike McGinnis: clarinet, soprano saxophone; Jacob sacks: piano; Vinnie Sperrazza: drums.

The distinguished cellist Hank Roberts, who marked the New York Downtown music scene with his artistically refined sound, makes a great return with Science of Love, an enjoyable body of work inspired by droves and featuring a multi-generational sextet of New York talents.

There are two freestanding pieces bookending the central 14-track suite titled “G”, namely, the opener “Sat/Sun Pa Tu X”, an expansion of the “Saturday/Sunday” suite from his 1993 album Little Motor People, and “205”, which closes out the album in a reflective and very much accessible chamber-pop mode. The former, however, is the one that causes more impact with an insouciant, vibrant swing that pulses through the group’s bloodstream. Pianist Jacob Sacks enters at a later time, but soon takes the lead, exposing a playfully articulated vocabulary. Then, it’s Roberts and violinist Dana Lyn who partner with the trombonist Brian Drye and the clarinetist Mike McGinnis, crisscrossing the rhythmic tapestry with elation, and creating a mood that recalls Charles Mingus. A clarinet solo paints a more sobering backdrop before taking us to the final cello musings.

The aforementioned suite is assembled with thematic-related frameworks that favor improvisation and creativity. One finds a generous dose of rock in Vinnie Sperrazza’s drumming on “G: The Sharp Peak of the Science of Love” as well as an allegro quality in the cello slogans. The charmer “G: Earth Sky Realms” is a beautifully brushed piece with pendular piano ostinatos and violin cries contributing to the subtle wistfulness that surrounds it.

The percussive and plucking techniques of “G: D23” invites us to imagine distant worlds, as it works toward a solid classical density. In turn, the more-invigorated “G: GLC Magnetic Floating Stripper” features McGinnis in a pungent flight of fancy on soprano over a 3/4 rhythmic flux. The three time feel is maintained on “G: 17” but things are softened up considerably here, just to ramp up again on “G: B45 L”, the longest track on the album at 12:44, which unfurls with Drye in the spotlight. This is before he starts a conversation with Roberts that culminates in a rhythmic dance with all members in it. The cellist puts on show a magnificent monologue before a mercurial final stage that involves a grooving passage, collective interplay and a propulsive backbeat.

Roberts will easily hook listeners with the tasteful blend of jazz, classical and improvisation that permeates his album.