Alliance: Alliance

The eponymous debut from Alliance—a collective quartet spearheaded by saxophonist Sharel Cassity and drummer Colleen Clark, and harmonically hinged on pianist Hannah Mayer and bassist Carmani Edwards— is a shining example of the strength behind a pact in play. A sorority built on substantial musical prowess and possibilities, this is a band that's locked and loaded for action.

Mixing carefully-chosen covers with winning originals, Alliance confidently endears itself to ears across this nine-song program. Opening on Mulgrew Miller's "Wingspan," this foursome demonstrates what swinging stemwinders are all about. Flying out of the gate, the band is high on energy and endurance. These players never flag as they go. Mary Lou Williams' "Syl-O-gism" follows, offering straight-time soul and elegance. Edwards' aptly-titled "Linger" delivers wonder in wafting form. Jimmy Heath's waltzing "Gemini" provides an opportunity to admire Cassity's flute work and serves as a direct nod to the composer's mentoring influence. And Edwards' aerated arrangement of Herbie Hancock's "Maiden Voyage"—with Clark adding color and grooves, Mayer moving into electric territory and Cassity captivating with melodious and serpentine soprano—makes for an ideal centerpiece.

Clark's "La Tristeza," starting off the back end of the program, is pure rubato rumination. A concise display of delicacy, it impresses as it finesses. Then contrast comes in several forms: Mayer's "Something New" brings on the driving swing with hairpin harmonic turns on a cambered causeway; things get swampy on Clark's "Caro-li-na," a Crescent City-style strut with a title referencing the composer's recent self planting in the Palmetto state; and the set comes to a close with Harold Mabern's "There But for the Grace of...," where trumpeter Kellin Hanas joins the happening and puts her horn to good use beside her sisters in sound.

Some band names tend to mean more than others and, based on this stellar debut, it's clear that Alliance is one of them. In performance, beauty, strength and bond, this is a band that lives up to its billing.

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