New Life is a giant step forward in the career of the brilliant drummer, whose work on so many Pat Metheny projects (and currently an all-star quartet led by vibesman Gary Burton) has given him such international exposure. It shows how quickly his confidence has grown as a composer and the way which he harmonises his songs. And songs they are, albeit wordless (as of now). His themes are a clever mix of uplifting, almost heraldic melody lines imbued with the sort of strong rhythmic phrasing that you'd expect from such an expert percussionist. All this is epitomised in the heart-warming opening ‘Uprisings and Revolutions’ and, even more so, in the nearly 15-minute title track, which is a major highlight and where his use of the human voice (his own and that of Thana Alexa) is effectively used to swell the ensemble blend. ‘Minotauro’ is a downtempo delight, ‘Nightime Story’ and ‘Air’ (the two ballads) show Sánchez's softer side, ‘Medusa’ is an uptempo blast, while, in contrast ‘The Real McDaddy’ gets the only funk groove going. As on his last album, recorded live at The Jazz Standard, he uses a front line of alto and tenor with Binney in for Miguel Zenón and McCaslin for David Sánchez. Both take passionate solos throughout, though somewhat low in the mix, which especially spotlights John Escreet, who plays less avant-gardedly than usual, but whose contributions here play an important role in the successful interpretations of Sánchez's mostly joyful themes, with the leader's charismatic and sophisticated drumming colouring everything underneath, and Brewer shows why he's so much in demand at the moment. Straight onto my year's ‘best of’ list.