Joe Chambers: Mirrors

Joe Chambers’s place in the history of this music is assured: his contributions, both as drummer and as composer, to many of the ground-breaking sessions of the ’60s have seen to that. The creative impulse in him will not be stilled, though, and we may be grateful for that: Mirrors is a wonderful set, beautifully realized by Chambers with Eddie Henderson on trumpet, Vincent Herring on saxophones, Mulgrew Miller on piano, and Ira Coleman on bass. Chambers plays vibes on two selections, including his “Sircles,” an intriguingly layered piece of solo multi-tracking. Henderson is marvelous on both muted and open horn, and Herring has an attractive, maturing voice on his instruments. Mulgrew Miller is truly coming into his own, overplaying less and consistently finding an apt line or harmony in the context of the ensemble. The opener, “Tu-way-pock-e-way (New Orleans Street Beat),” rides on a lovely rhythmic figure that Chambers dedicates to Vernell Fournier and his contribution to Jamal’s classic “Poinciana.”