Within the large production ethos of the Pat Metheny Group/Unity Group, it can sometimes be hard to discern the subtleties and exact stickings within Antonio Sanchez’s ever-refined skill set. Pianist Enrico Pieranunzi is also a master of subtlety, and his trio featuring Sanchez and bassist Scott Colley enables the drummer to express enormous range and color. Throughout Stories, Antonio uses his trademark rhythmic devices to exhilarate Pieranunzi’s lyrical music. His fiery Afro-Cuban rim work and incredible technique are constants, allied to unison, time-stopping bass drum/snare punctuations, surreal note-bending tom fills, wave-like full-set attacks, bubbling snare-note flurries that recall whispered conversation, and brilliant cymbal work. Beautiful. (CamJazz)

Ken Micallef