On This Is Now, tenor saxophonist Pete Mills leads a finely balanced quintet session that pairs modern jazz sensibility with a strong grounding in melodic improvisation and ensemble interplay. With Matt Wilson on drums, Martin Wind on bass, Pete McCann on guitar, and Kenny Banks Jr. on piano, Mills has a lineup of seasoned players […]
On This Is Now, tenor saxophonist Pete Mills leads a finely balanced quintet session that pairs modern jazz sensibility with a strong grounding in melodic improvisation and ensemble interplay. With Matt Wilson on drums, Martin Wind on bass, Pete McCann on guitar, and Kenny Banks Jr. on piano, Mills has a lineup of seasoned players who lift the quality of the music, keeping the performances open, conversational, and firmly centered on song form. Mills’ tenor sound is warm and direct, and the album’s small-group setting gives him room to shape each performance with clarity and purpose, resulting in a recording that feels contemporary, confident, and deeply connected to the straight-ahead tradition. A fantastic recording from the first song to the last.
