Terminology you see like cosy, late night jazz to-unwind-to - as opposed to the far more preferable sounds to get tangled up in (discuss?) - brings me out in a rash.
Sometimes through no fault of their own albums such as Star Dreams get labelled with this sort of thing.
Don't worry. Its strong suit includes a version of luminous Cécile McLorin Salvant's For One to Love number 'Monday'.
And there's more. Clearly pianist Zaleski isn't bothered with whatever you want to call it. He has a close affinity with the bebop, balladry and originals in the blend represented here. And it's no surprise that he has already worked closely with the greatest US jazz singer of her generation McLorin Salvant.
The double bassist here is Dezron Douglas, who apart from Christian McBride, Dave Holland and Avishai Cohen, is just about this blog's favourite bass player of all. Douglas was on Zaleski's Fellowship released 7 years ago and before that on My Ideal two years earlier, an album that also had a brief cameo from Ravi Coltrane.
Douglas just chooses all the right notes it seems to the naked ear, like someone who can get Wordle on the first guess like every time. On Zaleski tune 'Two Days' he's perfect. You get a lot of mobility in Douglas' circling-in on the melody and a real looseness when the shape of the piece allows him a little more latitude.
As a writer Zaleski is clear sighted. But nevertheless the Charlie Parker ('Passport'), Harry Warren ('I Wish I Knew') and Horace Silver evergreens (a very sprightly, maybe overly so take on 'Opus de Funk') are impossible in this idiom to match and take precedence apart from 'Star Dreams' the Zaleski original and title track that is the best of his originals where Willie Jones III on drums comes into his own a bit more obviously. Zaleski already has little to prove and so much to give and offers a good impression of being a future icon waiting in the wings ready to pounce.
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