Eastwood shows off his impressive composing and performing chops on his latest CD, THE VIEW FROM HERE, a release on the Jazz Village label. Accompanied by his all-Brit band (Graeme Blevins, sax; Quentin Collins, trumpet; Martyn Kaine, percussion; Andrew McCormack, piano), bassist Eastwood went into a French recording studio and put down eleven original tracks, all of which make for compulsive listening.

There is nothing showy about any of these tunes, each one of which starts quietly, even deliberately, then keeps building in intensity and musicality, becoming more and more expressive and gripping. There's a lot of exquisite playing by Eastwood's quintet, especially on "Luxor," a warm, lyrical, bluesy ballad written by Eastwood and McCormack, and featuring a heart-achingly beautiful flugelhorn solo by Collins. (harmoniamundi.com)