STEVE DAVIS/For Real:  Kicking it off with some classic feeling soul/jazz/funk,
Davis and his crew find that sweet spot where mainstream and post bop collide in
a bouncy ball fun house.  Ensemble playing that doesn’t miss a beat, this set of
all originals  never takes you to that place where you start wishing the gang would
break into something like “Compared to What?” so your ears can feel on familiar ground.
Smoking, tasty stuff throughout, this is a must for the sitting down jazz fans that
like to bounce in their seats as the groove unfurls.  Solid!8116
SARAH MANNING/Harmonious Creature:  Some might find this improvising sax player an
acquired taste, and a lot of them would be right.  With her roots in the free jazz
sound of the sixties, it’s sounds like she’s never paid her dues in a church basement
even if she’s made some off beat stops along the way.  An arts council darling, she
knows how to make free jazz for parents that have to get the sitter home early because
it’s a school night.8117