Dmitry Baevsky, favorite alto-playing son of St. Petersburg, Russia and current denizen of the jazz capital of the world, returns for his sophomore effort on Sharp Nine with big things on his plate, namely the music of some of jazz's greatest composers. Joining him is a top New York City rhythm section featuring David Hazeltine, John Webber and Jason Brown. Baevsky draws on compositions with strong, unmistakable melodies, interesting harmonic structures, and, because this is an album, a pleasing combination of texture, time and feel. Playing with tremendous maturity, Baevsky's improvisations feature clever modulations of repeated phrases, harmonically acute intervals, and sophisticated shading and dynamics. In a world of "higher, louder, faster," this mature album will delight the discerning jazz listener.