Dharma Days

After devoting his fourth album as a leader (Ballad Session) to standards, Mark Turner comes up with nine originals for his fifth, Dharma Days. But as on Ballad Session, which included everything from George Gershwin to Carla Bley, the tenor saxophonist is intent upon displaying the breadth of his taste. If the leadoff track, "Iverson's Odyssey," sounds like a fairly typical post-bop exploration, "Myron's World," with its lengthy unaccompanied introduction, suggests mid-period John Coltrane, while the concluding track, "Seven Points," is oddly disquieting and distinctly experimental. As usual, Dharma Days is a virtual duo album with guitarist Kurt Rosenwinkel. The two musicians play together on their club dates, but each has a solo recording contract, Turner with Warner Bros. and Rosenwinkel with Verve, so they trade off nominal leadership of their group, depending on whose session it is. (The rhythm section here consists of bass player Reid Anderson and drummer Nasheet Waits.) But the heart of both musicians' music is their interplay, which depends on a contrast between Turner's long, relaxed lines and Rosenwinkel's fast, anxious fretwork. When they are soloing together, as on "Deserted Floor" here, there is a fascinating musical conversation going on.