David Hazeltine - Manhattan (2006) [Hi-Res]

• Manhattan is an album that captures the dynamic moods of the world's greatest city as interpreted through the supple interplay of this skillful threesome. "Hazeltine, Mraz and Drummond have established an easy chemistry that hinges on their shared sense of time and conversational exchanges within the structure of each song," according to the album's liner notes. Hazeltine and Mraz are both no strangers to Chesky Records, having made their debuts for the label on Jon Faddis'1998 Remembrances CD/SACD and Phil Woods' Here's to My Lady CD/SACD, respectively.

• "Throughout this highly interactive session, Mraz and Drummond create an interesting dynamic with their push and pull approach to swinging in tandem, with Mraz nailing the beat with unparalleled precision and Drummond laying back behind the beat just a touch in a loose, relaxed manner. Hazeltine colors the harmonic contour of these standards with subtle reharmonizations on familiar themes while swinging in quintessentially straight ahead fashion." -- Bill Milkowski