Being late to the party is better than never arriving, though I do feel like I’ve come at the end when the revelers have gassed out. But that’s when the real fun begins, supplied by this patient post-crash bliss. Rob Mazurek has assembled a trio that subtly plays with expectations of experimental jazz. Rather than flamboyant pop and spazz, Mazurek (cornet), Matt Lux (bass) and Mikel Patrick Avery (organ) create a space of zen reflection. The New Year has come, “Auld Lang Syne” has wafted into the night and what’s left but a half-year of shattered expectations and new dreams. It’s the same cycle and Mazurek captures it eloquently with this headphone masterpiece of wistful belief. Alternate Moon Cycles is what it takes to survive the after party, Mazurek’s cornet playing a mournful blast of reverie at just the right moments; the tribute to the dying years and faded memories without forgetting all that’s past. The streamers may be drooping, the party-goers sunken. Yet we will see the sun rise and at dawn, a new beginning. Until then, we shall stare at the blinking stars and the waxing moon to await the fate of tomorrow.
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