The latest releases reviewed

PETE MCGUINNESS  First Flight Summit ****

Making his big band leader debut with this striking CD, McGuinness, better known as a trombonist with the orchestras of Maria Schneider, Jimmy Heath and Woody Herman, is a talented composer/arranger. Without being derivative, his voicings echo Thad Jones, his lines Bill Holman; the intricate, demanding charts are richly imaginative, yet retain a sense of direction, and considering his band recorded all nine pieces in one day, are carried off with immense swing, verve and skill. The personnel, like McGuinness, come from New York's elite: soloists include Charles Pillow (alto), Mike Holober (piano) and Chris Rogers and Bill Mobley (trumpet/flugelhorn). And McGuinness's transformations of Chaplin's Smile and Shorter's Infant Eyes are matched by the exceptional writing on his own Lonely Dance, A Fond Farewell and, above all, a gorgeous Spring Song. www.summitrecords.com RAY COMISKEY

KENNY BURRELL 75th Birthday Bash Live! Blue Note ***

Burrell, one of the finest jazz guitarists, always displayed a sense of order and logic - neatness even - in his work, and this birthday celebration is in character. The only concessions made to the trivial or the unbuttoned are a disposable vocal on Take The A Train and a jam on A Night In Tunisia, both sextet tracks with, among others, flautist Hubert Laws and organist Joey DeFrancesco. Elsewhere it's tidily together. Half the album features Burrell backed by Gerald Wilson's big band. Admittedly, no tempo is more taxing than a brisk medium, but he's in grooving form, and Wilson's writing is typically lucid. The small group tracks feature some good material, with Footprints, Lament and All Blues consistent in mood and execution and Laws's magnificent alto flute solo on Lament the high point of the CD. Strictly for Burrell fans, however. RAY COMISKEY

KENDRA SHANK A Spirit Free Challenge ****

Shank may not be well known, but she's an established singer on the New York scene, as shown by the band she has gathered for this tribute to one of her mentors, Abbey Lincoln. It includes such luminaries as Frank Kimbrough (piano), Billy Drewes (reeds), Ben Monder (guitar) and Gary Versace (accordion), as well as Dean Johnson and Tony Moreno on bass and drums. Taking on an album of Lincoln's songs is a tall order. One or two pieces, notably Bird Alone, are less successful than others, but Shank does extremely well with Down Here Below, Throw It Away, the gospel- type The World Is Falling Down, a beautifully reassessed Wholly Earth and a superbly personal Being Me. And the band immerses itself impeccably in the enterprise. www.musicconnection.org.uk RAY COMISKEY