Ezra Weiss is a three-time winner of the ASCAP Young Composer award, and his original tunes hold the most interest on this bittersweet CD. Placing his economical, inferential piano amidst a rotating cast of sensitive horn players and singers, Weiss dwells on frustration and heartbreak. He also allows a few rays of unbridled hope, but seems more at ease in the gloom. The slowly spiraling “For Heather” and resolute “Don’t Need No Ticket” bookend the set with stirring emotion.
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