Bassist/composer Anne Mette Iversen shows a masterful reach across jazz and classical music in “Best of the West,” the sumptuous suite that opens this two-disc set. Originally from Denmark but now part of the Brooklyn Jazz Underground collective, Iversen merges her own inventive quartet with the string ensemble 4Corners in a beautiful, shape-shifting pas de deux, each half of the double-quartet twining about the other in a breathtaking dialogue. Leaving the strings behind for the second disc, Iversen’s group alternates between forceful postbop themes, aching ballads and darting, slippery grooves. As saxophonist John Ellis sneaks and scurries, and drummer Otis Brown III rolls and strikes with laserlike precision. Pianist Danny Grissett’s lines stab at the air, while the leader provides assured grounding amidst the swirl.
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