Search - Greg Osby :: Zero

Like his colleagues in New York's jazz-funk M-BASE collective, alto saxophonist Greg Osby has spent considerable energy in his career exploring the common ground between hip-hop and jazz. So it is that twining rhythms with rock-solid percussion are the core of Osby's music. Zero presents Osby at his sharpest, whittling away his tone to a precise, vibratoless quickness that aids his trills and hopping solos as they veer between soulful outposts. Osby has pulled together a dynamite band, from young piano and keyboard phenom Jason Moran (who ably handles piano, Fender Rhodes, and Hammond B-3 here) to guitarist Kevin McNeal and young drumming whiz Rodney Green. Osby's band sounds finger-snap funky, especially as it backs the leader's clipped-range alto while he explores permutations and altered chord arrangements throughout the CD. With tunes like "Savant Cycles" and "Concepticus in C," Zero promises hip, smart bop-inflected music, and Osby delivers solidly. --Andrew Bartlett