A pioneer in jazz pedagogy and a prolific writer, David Baker has written eight tunes which contain a wide variety of styles and tempos. The rhythm section really gets into each tune, which in turn, brings more out of you when you play. Songs are all truly performance-level material, yet designed to specifically address the needs of the advancing improviser with different challenges in each: swing, rock, bossa, waltz, slow groove and ballad. Dan Haerle, piano; Rufus Reid, bass; Jonathan Higgins or Charlie Craig, drums