E.S.P.

E.S.P. is an inventive post-bop treasure that finds Mr. Davis totally re-energized by the young guns of his second quintet. Davis's first album of new material in six years (most of it written by the band), E.S.P. is a brilliantly-executed treatise on the workings of tension and release. The songs are predominantly modal and the structures themselves are different, with a minimalist bent and more emphasis placed on melodies that are repeated, fractured, improvised upon, and released into the ether of total, free sound. The supple rhythm section--powerhouse drummer Tony Williams and bassist Ron Carter--provide ample room for Davis, Hancock, and Shorter to explore interlocking melodies, notably on the jaunty "Eighty-One" and the sweet lullaby "Iris." On "Agitation," Williams brings the noise, grafting the rhythmic freedom of the day's free-form music to the group's tuneful and "out" playing. --Mike McGonigal