Tara Davidson is one of the inexhaustible supplies of youthful jazz artists cropping up north of the 49th. Hailing from Toronto, Ontario, Davidson is a comely, extremely capable player, blessed with a lovely, expressive tone and a penchant for writing cool, melodious charts.

Her weapons of choice, the alto and soprano sax, are conduits for her gift of beautiful musical lines and intriguing harmonies (Davidson penned all the songs). They make for very interesting listening. Today, far too many 'artists' from all genres of music cover themselves with camouflage, hiding a clear lack of talent, inserting arrogance and noise in place of artistry and soul. Davidson's music certainly is a shining example of the latter.

A certain level of the success of this, her second, CD lies with the other three members of the quartet. David Braid -- piano, Michael McClennan -- bass, and Jesse Baird -- drums. I've not heard Baird before, but here he shows excellent skills. Braid and McClennan are mainstays of the Toronto jazz scene. Both are wonderful and add to Davidson's driving style.

Top of the CD is Mediterraneo, a number that highlights Davidson's gift for color. This is followed by my favourite track, Wait & See, an extended virtuoso vehicle where her rhythmic vitality is placed in front of an excellent accompaniment -- the boys in the band have lots of fun on this one, too. Braid's piano solo is especially fine. On Anastasia's Sister, Davidson's oh-so-mellow soprano sax is caught to aching perfection. She shows only the subtlest of vibrato and the merest hint of meloncholy; they help to make this track a winner. The lovely Anastasia and her sister inspire another fine piano solo from Braid and some nice brush work from Baird. Who is Anastasia? Or, more to the point, who is the 'sister'? The CD follows a good balance of ballad and swing. Anticipation has the best of both worlds with a gorgeous slow intro (nice phrasing, Tara!) followed by more up tempo goodness. There are nine terrific tracks in all.

What I like about Davidson's styling is her excellent sense of each melody's inevitability placed against excellent changes and sophisticated rhythms. Ghost notes, spot on tuning, evenness of tone (not bland) through all the registers and the ability to turn a rhythm on its head are all hallmarks of her playing. As such, Ms. Davidson is a real find.

The recording is of the close miked variety. It certainly captures all the subtleties of the playing. With most high end systems, the listener will feel the presence of Ms. Davidson.

The recording is available in stores, but like many self published jazz recordings, availability may be sketchy. As such, a quick visit to taradavidson.ca will set you straight.