Contextualizin’

Trumpeter/flugelhornist Ian Carey figured out that, to make his mark as a jazzman, he needed to put his playing into context: “What I played would help shape how I played (and vice versa, as it turned out)”; hence the title of this, his second CD for his own label. After a stint in the Big Apple, Carey moved to the Bay Area nine years ago. Now in his mid-30s, he puts himself into context by writing his own music. “I really love learning old jazz tunes … but I feel like you can do that forever and never catch up with the greats.” Thus eight of the disc’s nine tunes are his; the ringer is a stunning reworking of the standard “Just Friends” (“a masterpiece of forward motion,” says Carey) that opens (and closes) with some lovely contrapuntal work by Carey and alto saxist Evan Francis that ultimately turns into a magnificent feature for pianist Adam Shulman with bassist Fred Randolph and drummer Jon Arkin—all of whom have been with Carey for six years—in close support. Equally interesting is “Shake and Joe,” a super lively item that, according to Carey, “began life as an exercise in writing a melody consisting solely of the piano’s white notes.” Fascinating work by all hands.