Gonzalo Rubalcaba: This Is It

On the longest track from Rubalcaba's Avatar CD, the band stretches out for a 12-minute exploration of Yosvany Terry's composition "This Is it." The harmonic approach is mostly modal, with the solos taking wing over the throbbing vamp of bassist Matt Brewer, who periodically jumps into fast swing time but never settles into any rhythm long enough to let the soloists get complacent. The result is an agitated, jittery performance that throws off lots of sparks.