Josh Berman

Featuring: Chris Corsano, Jason Roebke

Were you to tap the lifeblood of Chicago music, you would find Josh Berman flowing liberally through its veins. Active on the scene for more than a quarter century, the cornetist, bandleader, and composer has helped retain the unique flavor of the city's soundscape, with particular attention to the music of its jazz past – groups like the Austin High Gang and the Oliver-Armstrong lineage and Freddie Keppard, as well as more recent figures from Lester Bowie to Wadada Leo Smith.

But Berman is more interstylistic synthesist than moldy fig, a fact nowhere better demonstrated than in his powerhouse trio. On Everybody Else's Life, Too, the group's second record, Berman has found the perfect percussionist for his compact-yet-expansive compositions. Chris Corsano, who plays in a staggering array of contexts from voluble free jazz to timbral sonic experiments, is in turn ideally complemented by Jason Roebke's bass playing, which is equally adept in all areas melodic, swingful, and textural alike. A sharp studio recording captures the rapport and playfulness, as well as the adventure, inherent in the threesome's dynamic interaction.