Wake Up Call

Bob Gallo is hardly well known to jazz listeners, and the lack of liner notes keeps interested fans from learning more. But Gallo is an accomplished post-bop guitarist whose compositions hold one's interest, accompanied by a band that includes two veterans of the Mingus Big Band (trumpeter Alex Sipiagin, who has also recorded extensively as a leader for Criss Cross, along with bassist Boris Koslov), and drummer Gene Jackson (who has worked on dozens of recordings since 1988), whereas pianist Misha Tsyganov is a bit of a mystery man. Gallo's charts motivate his musicians into top-notch performances, though none of his songs are especially memorable. This is one of countless self-released CDs that has good music but may miss a lot of press coverage and radio airplay because of a curious lack of information in its packaging.