Supercollider

Jazz fusion can be a dicey proposition these days if you focus more on the jamming than the songwriting. But Supercollider has avoided all of that, coming up with something more akin to Weather Report or Head Hunters-era Herbie Hancock; throw in a bit of the livelier end of Dave Brubeck and a touch of George Benson, and you'll have an idea of what this EP sounds like. The singing on "Ghosts I've Known" is ably delivered with a gentle soulfulness that serves as a reminder that smooth jazz wasn't always the domain of elevator music. The percussive flourishes and dynamics underlying the smoky vocal melody on "Wasted Ways" are economical and texturally diverse. What is most impressive about this group of songs is the balance they strike between musical prowess and tight songwriting.