Bobby Avey won the Thelonius Monk prize for composition in 2011 and currently holds the piano chair with Dave Liebman's group Expansions. He has fluency to spare and a distinct sound that combines sparse, discordant voicings with a light touch. His ambitious new CD, structured as an uninterrupted three-part suite, is inspired by events surrounding the Haitian Revolution of 1791. The composition is based on Avey's transcriptions of the drumming patterns of Haitian Vodou ritual, but tight, choppy rhythms, and an edgy front line, give them a distinctly Downtown twist. The album opens with ‘Kalfou’, a complex rhythmic web that transposes Haitian Vodou rhythms to an interlocking mesh of piano, guitar, Miguel Zenón's dry-toned alto sax and the elliptic beats of drummer Jordan Perlson. Slow-burn solos ensue, Ben Monder's raunchy guitar followed by a venomous highlight from Zenón, and then a sparse piano interlude, also based on Vodou rhythmic complexities, introduces the sedate and ominous ‘Louverture’. The final piece, ‘Cost’, is introduced by a short interlude from the drums and fades, after nearly 20 minutes, with a delicate lattice of piano and guitar. In between, tensions ebb and flow while avoiding extremes, and Zenón, once again, produces the highlights.