FLOW

Michael Dease - trombone

Sharel Cassity - alto saxophone, flute

Geoffrey Keezer - piano

Jared Beckstead-Craan - bass

Gary Kerkezou - Drums

Everything comes together for Michael Dease and company on Flow, which should be no surprise but it must not be taken for granted. The dynamic trombonist, a consummate musician, releases his eighteenth album as a leader since 2005 and eleventh with Posi-Tone Records, all imbued with joyful engagement and flaunting stylistic variety. Dease plays fast, sure lines, cast from his large, dark horn with dry-heat precision, evoking brawn, funk, delicacy, tenderness and many positions in between. The album features alto saxophonist and flutist Sharel Cassity, a frontline that has recorded some dozen records together. Geoffrey Keezer on piano, who the trombonist credits with mentorship during their five-year tenure in the late saxophonist David Sanborn’s group. On bass, African and Canadian raised Jared Beckstead-Craan, a Dease protégé as a Master’s degree candidate at Michigan State University. Drummer Gary Kerkezou, a native of Greece, brings a snappy and motivating drive to round out the ensemble. This cast, with years and years of playing by each of the quintet’s members, was able to complete the recording in about 5 hours. Michael Dease’s Flow conveys recognizable emotions and long-lasting experiences. Its surfaces are swift, it splashes and bubbles, its currents are deep, and its course runs true.