Josh Berman
gives his third
Delmark
album a title that makes it seem like a lark, but
A Dance and a Hop
feels serious, if not exactly sober. This dexterous post-bop does challenge, gliding from percolating cloistered grooves to expansive syncopation, transitions that the trio of cornetist
Berman
, bassist
Jason Roebke
, and drummer
Frank Rosaly
perform seemingly instinctively while executing them with a precision that gives the lie to that impression.
walks that edge, its 11 songs carrying an immediacy that suggests improvisation, but these are subtle, shaded compositions that cumulatively suggest the depth and range of
. Still, the main pleasure of
remains how the trio turns this cerebral music into something visceral; the performances retain their kick in subsequent spins. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine