The strings and sax format has been utilized by a number of jazz greats, from Charlie Parker to Stan Getz and now alto and soprano saxophonist Greg Osby. He's working with a combo featuring the young piano whiz Jason Moran, augmented by a string quartet, which complements the leader's atmospheric and snaky sax lines. The compositions exhibit a beautiful blend of the compositional and improvisational genius of Eric Dolphy, Andrew Hill, Henry Threadgill, Wayne Shorter, and Muhal Richard Abrams. That blend is heard on the evocative, impressionistic expressions of "M" and the anthemic "Repay in Kind." The standard "Wild Is the Wind" is reborn with a darker harmonic hue. The strings supply Osby's songs with ethereal, classically tinged textured expressions. Osby plays, arranges, and composes with imagination and ingenuity--and the best is yet to come. --Eugene Holley Jr.