Joe Lovano

Year after year, tenor sax titan Joe Lovano releases completely unique concept albums on Blue Note. This time out, Lovano forms Us Five, a young backing band, and harks back to the free-spirited NYC loft scene recordings of the 1960s and '70s. In a first, Lovano wrote all the tunes here, and he expertly handles the diverse styles, melody lines and fluid improvisations, while his able band -- which includes fast-rising star Esperanza Spalding on bass -- goes for broke right alongside him. Lovano's passion, stamina and creativity continue to dazzle.