The Brad Upton Quintet

Trumpeter Brad Upton's previous CD on the Black Orchid label, Dragon, was recorded in May 2001 and released earlier this year; it revealed a jazzman whose ideas and gifts were spreading far and wide. His "current" release, also called Black Orchid, is, in truth, a leftover from 1999 that's just now making its way to the bins. By comparison, it sounds rhythmically inert and harmonically tame -- an exercise in drowsy "smooth jazz" that, at this distant point, seems unworthy (and unrepresentative) of his talent. The eight tracks -- all Upton originals -- seem to have one eye on the commercial airwaves and the other on new-age bliss, not a good quiniela for a player seeking to make a mark. The standout here is brilliant Denver/Boulder guitarist Mitchell Long, whose inventive improvisations are still underrated on his own turf.