Mace Hibbard

Georgia State saxophone professor Mace Hibbard’s When Last We Met provides a fitting range for a versatile jazz musician who has appeared with everyone from Wynton Marsalis to Derek Trucks to the Austin Symphony Orchestra. Providing ample counterpoint on several tracks is guitarist Bryan Leitch. The pair shines on the laid-back blues of “Revered Boots ‘n’ Ball,” which is the best on what is already a good disc, and sounds like a lost Lee Morgan classic. There’s no underestimating the groove here. With Louis Heriveaux on piano, Marc Miller on bass and Justin Varnes on drums, the rhythm section provides maximum funk to the restrained cool of Leitch’s guitar and Hibbard’s lone tenor performance. The atmospheric track “The Tempest” showcases more of Hibbard’s range, proving just how comfortable and adventurous he can be on alto. Hibbard, the son of trumpeter Dave Hibbard, wrote 10 of the 11 tracks on the disc, and seems to channel everyone from Cannonball Adderley to Branford Marsalis in his writing and playing. When Last We Met definitely leaves you listening out for when we’ll meet again. 4 stars