After crafting one of the most accomplished jazz debuts I've ever heard, Xhosa Cole abandons dense, tightly-arranged hard bop for nine workshopped improvisations with seven percussionists, most of them African. Those pieces are absolutely stunning. Cole's ability to merge rhythm and melody on his saxophone is possibly unmatched--an unbelievable thing to say for a 26-year old.

Xhosa Cole Ibeji (Stoney Lane Records)

The rest of the album consists of largely spoken interludes. They are informative and occasionally entertaining, but they do leave the album sounding like something of a lecture. A lecture that contains some truly astonishing music, but a lecture nonetheless.

Ibeji is a Yoruba term that roughly translates to "twins", and the work of the various duos on this album is electric. Cole has the ability to transform his saxophone into an extension of himself, and he never seems at a loss for ideas. His willingness to merge with his partners makes these songs enthralling.

In the digital age, one can skip the chaff and go right to the meat. I understand what Cole was doing with his interviews and spoken bits. He wants to give texture and context. But the attraction here is the music, and those songs alone would have made this album another stunner. That the spoken parts here often come off as stilted in no way dims his star. The UK jazz scene is approaching brilliant these days, and Cole is an incandescent member. When brilliant people take chances, wonderment often follows. The music here is just that.

Jon Worley