Episodes of Grace

“We Create”

(Posi-Tone)

Posi-Tone’s Out to Dinner recordings have become much-coveted items in the label’s discography, starting with the group’s first release — Different Flavors — in 2018. More a musical vehicle than a rigid ensemble, each Out to Dinner release features a rotating cast of musicians and a heavy dose of improvisation, with equal emphasis on communication and composition (think Eric Dolphy’s Out to Lunch!, from which the group gets its moniker and raison d’etre). The 2022 affair, Episodes of Grace, features Behn Gillece on vibes, Patrick Cornelius on saxophone, Ryan Keberle on trombone, Boris Kozlov on bass and Rudy Royston on drums — whose cohesion here borders on the telepathic. The sleek and minor-tinged “We Create” features a groove that builds like a thunderstorm. Keberle and Cornelius are emphatic in their solo turns, but it’s not until the whole crew starts wailing that lightning really strikes.