May 2000

Paul Abler
In the Marketplace
Equinox Mansion

By Jim Ferguson

Guitarist Paul Abler, a native of Detroit, leads his quartet (powered by the propulsive drumming of Cindy Blackman) through a set of sophisticated originals that necessarily give his work a more serious, hungrier edge. Throughout, he fluidly wields his instrument, seamlessly moving from one phrase and episode to the next, although the busier ensemble context requires that he play a conservative textural role.