Say that you are a rock guitarist or jazz saxophonist, and people will get an idea of what your solo music might sound like. Say that you are a percussionist, and they will have little idea. Many might just skip over your music for that reason, but they would lose out if they missed Leake’s fine new offering with its unique aural landscape.

The nearest thing to it that I have come across is drummer Billy Cobham’s Spectrum, in that it is largely instrumental (most of the few vocals here are wordless, working like instruments), with a range of funky or jazzy soundscapes, and it features plenty of percussion without being a series of drums solos.

When I first heard selected tracks, I wanted to continue listening to each one as soon as it had finished, which is a great start with any collection.

Percussion is a very flexible trade and Leake draws in a range of sounds with their own identities and which complement each other. Most are close to jazz or world (African or Indian).

One of the highlights is opening track “Aldebaran,” where Leake’s percussion is multi-levelled and almost melodic. Bells sometimes dong, congas often cong, chimes chime, sticks run up and down a glockenspiel, and some luscious, tuned high notes play a riff like something from the Alan Parson Project’s “I Robot.” Over the top, Rohan Gregory’s electric violin solos freely and unhurriedly. I could have done with even more of that.

Another standout is the title track, where percussion has more of a Santana feel, Leake features the tuneful ring of vibraphone, and Randy Roos's guitar solos jazzily at different tempos with some percussive-sounding vocals. It is addictive, hypnotic, warm and almost danceable.

The guitar also plays the slow lead rôle on “Zulugu”, riffing loosely over a shuffling rock beat, accessible and musical enough to keep interest, but indifferent to structured melody, keener to build a sound picture.

Other tracks continue the variety: “Plan 9” is quietly and exotically Turkish; “Freehand” is a short vibraphone improvisation; “Smoke” features a more traditional jazz brass section; “Goo” features a counting song on turntables; “Convex” is a short and attractive guitar piece; and elsewhere, there is plenty of jazz fusion.

This is a generous collection, and a few of the penultimate tracks could easily be missed off with very little loss, but that should take nothing away from the rest of the disc, which strives for excellence and frequently reaches it.

Leake is a former president of the Massachusetts Chapter of the Percussive Arts Society and a graduate of Berklee College of Music, where he studied Jazz vibraphone and hand percussion. It shows; fine stuff.
 

Derek Walker