Maddie Vogler - While We Have Time [CD]

Immersed in thoughts of identity, family and culture, Chicago saxophonist Maddie Vogler commissioned the original cover art depicting the hands of her immigrant grandmothers to frame her debut recording. Steeped in modern jazz while freely exploring Vogler's relationship with her Cuban roots, her nine original compositions are brimming with adventurous rhythmic energy and melodic soulfulness. Her musical mentor, trumpeter Tito Carrillo, shares the front line, while the rhythm section of Matt Gold, Jake Shapiro, Samuel Peters, and Neil Hemphill provide a percolating momentum on tunes such as "The Need To Be," an elegiac gait on "Corridors," or a driving, Afro-Cuban flavored 9/8 on "Check Engine Light." While We Have Time is an expansive and striking debut, planting Vogler squarely within Chicago's great, historical jazz legacy.