Label: Sunnyside Records, 2020

Personnel - Ravi Coltrane: tenor and soprano saxophones; Oscar Noriega: bass clarinet, alto saxophone; Stephanie Richards: trumpet; James Carney: piano; Dezron Douglas: bass; Tom Rainey: drums.

Pianist and composer James Carney has been an important figure in the New York scene for years, whether leading interesting groups assembled to carry out his creative ideas, whether curating and hosting the improvisation-centered Konceptions music series in Brooklyn.

His new outing, Pure Heart, features a sextet composed of a powerful three-horn frontline with saxophonist Ravi Coltrane, multi-reedist Oscar Noriega, and trumpeter Stephanie Richards, and a gritty rhythm section that puts bassist Dezron Douglas and drummer Tom Rainey side by side for the very first time. Despite the different aspects of their musical personalities, interesting things happen throughout the five tracks on the album, a display on how utterly comfortable Carney is on his instrument.

That rare rhythmic empathy we find here is promptly brought to the table as we hear the first sounds of “Inharmonicity”, a jolt of inspiring vitality comprising intervallic awe, impeccable synced accentuations, and a three-way horn conversation that soars with empowerment and freedom.

Effectively melding tradition and avant-garde, the appropriately sinuous “Throwing Shades” is an imagination of how Horace Silver would compose in the modern times. The bass enters alone, later enjoying the company of the piano, which reinforces the groove. The horns align melodically during the theme, getting ready to set flight in solos that unfold with fearless posture. The bandleader also improvises, extending his actions by interjecting and reacting during Richards’ conversational narrative. This number ends pacifically under a bass-and-drums spell.

“Mayor of Marcellus” emphasizes zigzagging consonances within an asymmetric form. It’s a lush-looking collective effort that mirrors the personal sense of composition and instrumental color in Carney’s artistry.

Written for a friend who died from brain cancer, “Forty Year Friend” is a sore, waltzing ballad brushed with sympathy and stirred by a clarinet statement and a subsequent sax-trumpet dialogue. Richards and Coltrane keep the conversation going on “Gerrymandered”, but having Noriega’s assertive bass clarinet right next to them on this occasion. They’re given a chance to flex their muscles with obliquity before an introspective piano deliberation transpires over a bass-only substructure.

With an incredibly open and wide view on jazz, Carney and his new group surprise at every turn. Pure Heart is candid creative music.