Prepare for a big change in the super talented bass guitarist here. Maybe it is John Patitucci producing, maybe it is a new much more mature sound but for whatever reason there is a lot less bombast, a lot more expressiveness and some great tunes all factored in.

Gwizdala has gathered a fine band around him on The Union [****] (issued on his own label Gwizmon Productions) with Clarence Penn on drums, Philip Dizack on trumpet, and Ruslan Sirota (who appeared with Gwizdala on the excellent Bob Reynolds album Quartet) on piano. On ‘The End of the Story’ there is a pared back almost-Steve Rodby Metheny-esque feel to the tender ballad and this track is at the heart of the album which relies for a lot of its best effects on a thoughtful, more meditative and less-is-more mentality. In a sea of music this is the kind of message in a bottle we all need that defies the odds to reach out and communicate. SG