.William Parker Quartet

The latest album by the William Parker Quartet, arguably NYC’s most dynamic jazz ensemble of the new century, presents a vision that is both adventurous and accessible. With its distinguished front line of Rob Brown (alto sax) and Lewis Barnes (trumpet), Sound Unity carries on a melodic tradition that bounces with freestyle rhythmic energy, feinting here and there with oblique singsong phrases that are at once beautiful and unusual — and sometimes even catchy, as on the sun-spirited “Hawaii.” Underpinned by Parker’s on-point basslines and Hamid Drake’s speaking-in-tongues drumming, tunes like the title track, “Wood Flute Song,” and “Harlem” convey deep roots in the blues and Africa-rich grooves without resorting to clichés. The disc’s most abstract piece, “Poem for June Jordan,” communicates Parker’s message of oneness, where tradition and forward-motion thrive together in peace.