Description

JOE LOVANO formed a new band that he calls US FIVE to record Folk Art, his 22nd effort for Blue Note. In the liberated spirit of 1960s avante-garde and 1970s loft scenes featuring rising stars Esperanza Spalding on bass, Francisco Mela and Otis Brown III on drums and percussion, and James Weidman on piano this is Joes first album of all original compositions, mixing his native-tongue free jazz elasticity with nuanced Latin grooves and meditative lyricism. The recording captures the edge-of-the-seat group interaction of US5 as the band intuitively interprets Lovanos compositions in a loose and joyous way.

Joe Lovano, saxophones
James Weidman, piano
Esperanza Spaulding, bass
Otis Brown III, drums
Francisco Mela, drums