Difficult second album? Maybe, maybe not for pianist Justin Kauflin whose album Dedication isn’t exactly hindered by the presence of co-producer Quincy Jones. Mentored by Clark Terry, an early influence on Miles Davis, Kauflin also features in a new documentary about Terry called Keep On Keepin’ On (featured in the clip above). Listen to a stream via WBGO of the full album here

To be released by Jazz Village this month Dedication features Kauflin’s trio with Christopher Smith on bass, and Billy Williams on drums and on quartet tracks adding guitarist Matt Stevens (Etan Haziza also guests on a single track). The compositions are Kauflin’s whose playing style bears a little resemblance to Taylor Eigsti’s and whose compositional style is solidly framed in modern mainstream and post bop traditions influenced by the likes of the late Mulgrew Miller. Born in Silver Spring, Maryland, in 1986, by the age of 11 Kauflin had lost all his sight but remarkably went on to earn a presidential scholarship to William Paterson university in New Jersey where he was mentored by Terry. Kauflin’s first CD as a leader Introducing Justin Kauflin was released in 2008.