Forms (2004)

"Of all the downtown New Yorkers on the jazz scene, especially those from the avant-garde, saxophonist Ellery Eskelin is the one who has made the most use of the various forms of the jazz tradition. Here, accompanied by Drew Gress (b) and Phil Haynes (d), he makes an overt gesture to his influences on the one hand, but uses his abilities to work out further inside the given forms he's learned. Hence, all the tracks -- with the exception of a phenomenal reading of Duke Ellington's "African Flower" -- are elemental structural pieces designed to express the very form they were composed in, which includes the album's concluding piece "Bebop." He takes Gillespie's original anthem as far outside as he can, keeping the same changes and harmonies, but turns up the heat and cranks the timbral palette to the outside, stuttering and spewing from his horn as Gress punctures the rhythm with a breathtaking solo. This is Eskelin jazz, folks; it's full of pathos, humor, and musically sanctified soul." (Thom Jurek, Allmusic)