Label: Self released, 2020

Personnel - Scott Litroff: alto sax; Francis Hon on piano; David Ullmann: guitar; Jeong Hwan Park: bass; Daisuke Konno: drums.

World Jazz Quintet is comprised of like-minded NY-based musicians with an ability to transform a mixture of idioms into a seamless fusion blend. This cross-country group - Scott Litroff on alto sax, David Ullmann on guitar, Francis Hon on piano, Jeong Hwan Park on bass and Daisuke Konno on drums - has recently released a live recording, Live at QPAC Theater, whose seven tracks demonstrate their taste for jazz tradition, Asian folk and pop music, post-bop, and R&B.

The record opens with Ullman’s “Astor Place”, whose slick rhythmic expressions evoke the spirit of that one-block street located in downtown Manhattan. Built on a tight foundation and crossing the borders of jazz, this piece is bolstered by a supple sax solo enthralled by refined post-bop terminology and serving straight-up emotion. With Litroff easily sticking out due to the force of his peremptory vocabulary, Hon serves as a counterbalance by cooking his solos thoughtfully and patiently. Although less dominant, he's by no means less efficient in his approach. However, it’s the saxophonist who shines again on “Spring Breeze”, a lighthearted folk Taiwanese composition by Deng Yu-Hsien, which gains a standard-like nature due to its cool tones and soulful harmonic progressions. Curiously, at times, it made think of an intersection between the spiritual pop songs of Van Morrisson and the straight-ahead jazz of Eric Alexander.

Joe Sample’s “Soul Shadows”, a staple among The Crusaders’ most known songs, is pure, grooved-out soul-jazz with a magnetic appeal. Slippery guitar and popping funky bass lines are part of the deal, in which everybody gets to solo. After this third track, the record faces a shortage in tension due to three balladic pieces in a row. Risking close-to-the-edge tonalities, Park’s “Ultimo Fin de Samana” is filled with long vibrato notes, while the waltzing “One’s Way Back”, borrowed from Korean K-pop artist Son Ju Park, is boosted with wide-ranging saxophone, soothing bluesy guitar, and a dramatic piano unfolding.

The record ends with one of the most iconic compositions from the late pianist Randy Weston - “Little Niles”. With it, the quintet restores the infectious verve of the first tracks, waltzing and swinging effortlessly with symmetry and proportion.

Never subjective in their practices, the members of this crew share musical warmth at the same time that celebrate their influences.