“Romanian-born pianist Lucien Ban and baritone saxophonist Alex Harding have a thriving collaboration, as evidenced by their well-focused Tuba Project, and Ban’s assertive presence on The Calling. Often, the strength of such collaborations can be measured by another circle of musicians; those brought onto more than one project. Ban and Harding’s is doing well on that count, with Brad Jones on board with both Asymmetry and Blutopia, and drummer Derek Phillips playing on both the pianist’s date and Tuba Project. Another gauge is their ability to recruit bona fide heavyweights like tuba player Bob Stewart, serious contenders like drummer Nasheet Waits, and solid journeyman saxophonists J.D. Allen and Jorge Sylvester, to give each album distinctive identities.
Ban’s writing on Playground reveals influences spanning the early carefree Ornette and the early weighty Jimmy Giuffre; however, there’s nothing gratuitously off-center or ponderous about his compositions. Instead, Ban hones melody and harmonic movement into smartly constructed pieces that resonate, emotionally……