Hello My Friends:

Bassist Dezron Douglas begins this disc with a super-charged hat-tip to Benny Harris’ “Bish, Bash, Bosh,” taking Harris’ melody, cranking up the tempo and adding more verve and energy. Trumpeter Josh Evans and tenor saxophonist Stacy Dillard harmonize on the winding melody giving the tune a light, easy bounce. It’s a firecracker of a tune, and Douglas carries that bouncy, weightless approach through the entire live recording.

Douglas composed most of the tunes, with pianist David Bryant offering the meditative “Nita.” On the somber, muted tune, Dillard’s dark soprano takes center stage, providing a rich contrast to Bryant’s accented, bright piano style. The group’s only other cover, Gigi Gryce’s “Minority,” is given a regimental—but still plenty bouncy, of course— bent by drummer Willie Jones III. Bryant’s piano, at once both choppy and rubato, flows over the snare, Douglas plucking away a walking pattern on each downbeat. After the melody enters, the accompaniment turns to tight, compact swing. Like “Bish, Bash, Bosh,” the tune is somewhat of a transformation—and is slowed down considerably from the original—with the band putting its own mark on the piece. —Jon Ross