Blessings - Anthony Branker & Ascent

(Origin Records). Composer ANTHONY BRANKER ’80 leads the jazz collective Ascent on the group’s second album. The music brings together the sensibilities of Brazilian, Cuban, and African musical traditions along with a variety of jazz influences and the sounds of R&B. The nine songs on this disc were composed by Branker and feature saxophonists Steve Wilson and Ralph Bowen, trombonist Clifford Adams Jr., vibraphonist Bryan Carrott, and pianist Jonny King ’87, among other artists. Branker is head of Princeton’s jazz program.