Guitarist Adam Levy set out to write and record the “jazz album of his dreams”. He wanted it to feature a fresh batch of original tunes, and he’d need to marshal a rhythm section that could swing, simmer, and shade. His first call was to double-bassist Larry Grenadier, best known for his tenure in Brad Mehldau’s mercurial trio. Next, Levy reached out to drummer Joey Baron. (Levy was a member of Baron’s late-’90s quartet Killer Joey.) Before signing on to this project, Baron nudged Levy: “There’s going to be some blues, right? I always love the way you play the blues!” Levy assured Baron and began writing the music that would fill up this album — now dubbed Spry. If there’s an intimacy to the sound of Spry, that’s because every note was recorded with the band set up in one room — with minimal isolation, and no headphones used. Levy says that Spry fulfilled his original impulse, and then some. “This album really is a dream come true for me. I wrote my way into some new spheres. Larry and Joey followed me at every turn — and sometimes led the way.”