(Concord Records)

Gerald Clayton’s debut for Concord Records is another great venture in sound. Life Forum co-mingles the pianist’s syncopated rhythms with voice and brass for a magnificent musical journey. Clayton’s core trio of recent years, bassist Joe Sanders and drummer Justin Brown, is joined by saxophonists Logan Richardson and Dayna Stephens and trumpeter Ambrose Akinmusire . Vocalists Gretchen Parlato and Sachal Vasandani and poet Carl Hancock Rux expand the expeditionary group, as well the sound and scope of Clayton’s hypnotic compositions. The tunes are contemplative, melodic and entrancing and the performances herein are admirable and beautiful to the ear .