Power Source is something of a departure for Ryan Kisor, as it features a piano-less quartet fronted by the leader and tenor saxophonist Chris Potter, with James Genus on bass and Gene Jackson on drums. The harmonically sparse format gives the set a more modern edge, although there's still loads of tradition in these seven tracks. After getting warmed up with Kisor's fast, polyphonic title cut, the quartet tackles two Chris Potter originals ("Salome's Dance,""Pelog"), two Mingus charts ("Duke Ellington's Sound of Love,""Boogie Stop Shuffle"), and Jimmy Heath's beautiful waltz "New Picture" before signing off with Ornette Coleman's classic "Bird Food." (Potter, incidentally, recorded both "Salome's Dance" and "Boogie Stop Shuffle" on his 1994 release, Pure.) Kisor's trumpet work is superb, his rapport with Potter highly developed. While he has consistently displayed great promise from a remarkably early age, Power Source represents his biggest "growth spurt" thus far. He shouldn't be underestimated. - David R. Adler
Tracks
01. Power Source (Ryan Kisor)
02. Salome´s Dance (Chris Potter)
03. Duke Ellington’s Sound Of Love (Charles Mingus)
04. New Picture (Jimmy Heath)
05. Boogie Stop Shuffle (Charles Mingus)
06. Pelog (Chris Potter)
07. Bird Food (Ornette Coleman)
RYAN KISOR trumpet
CHRIS POTTER tenor sax
JAMES GENUS bass
GENE JACKSON drums
Recorded at Systems Two Recording Studios, Brooklyn, N.Y.
CRISS 1196 CD