In early January 2022, Dave Zinno Unisphere’s Fetish peaked at #22 on The Roots Music Report's Top 50 Jazz Album Chart for that week with three tracks (“Unknown Mystery,” “Nile” and “The Golden Age”) receiving considerable airplay from this configuration of three horns, piano, bass and drums. The pandemic put a damper on the New York-based unit’s live dates, but that didn’t slow down the creative urge of Dave Zinno (bass, cuica) and his bandmates, Mike Tucker (tenor sax), Eric Benny Bloom (trumpet, flugelhorn), Leo Genovese (keyboards), Tim Ray (piano), Rafael Barata (drums, percussion), and special guest Rafael Rocha (trombone) on the closer. Fetish became the metaphor for the importance of music in their lives to provide strength, comfort and connection. The band remains hard-swinging throughout the 76-minute-plus program that is largely galvanizing hard bop.

Zinno’s originals (“Fetish,” “So Close So Far” and “Nile”) set the tone for a set with plenty to savor, and if you listen carefully you’ll hear Zinno’s cuica (Brazilian friction drum with a high-pitched ‘laughing gourd’ timbre) layered into two of these tracks.  Genovese’s “Into the Whole” features the innovative pianist’s percussive excitement. Bloom’s “Unknown Mystery” presents a smooth jazz groove full of sustain, intensity and elasticity. Tucker’s self-penned compositions (“Melancholy Daydream,” “The Golden Age” and “Over the Horizon”) are very earnest, lyrical pieces with drive, sincerity and force.  His solo introduction to Edu Lobo’s “Beatriz” evolves into a sweet conversation with flugelhorn, before the piano and bass weave their way around the Brazilian’s timeless melody.

With its forward-looking momentum, Paul Nagel’s “Future History” has a hopeful, optimist sound. To conclude the set, I was pleasantly surprised that the Dave Zinno Unisphere breathe a new fresh perspective into Dom Salvador’s “Meu Fraco é Café Forte” ("My Weakness is Strong Coffee"), paying homage to his work without resorting to clichés, as well as sounding like they're having a blast in the process. In fact, it would be fun and unique to hear the D.Z. Unisphere assemble an entire project of classic and contemporary Brazilian fare.

On Fetish, Dave Zinno and his friends’ sheer technical abilities are on display throughout. They weave delicate contrapuntal lines in and around melodies, with each track featuring a range of inventive and sensitive jazz voicings. The splendid album is clearly a team effort that highlights their diversity, versatility and virtuosity. (Joe Ross, Roots Music Report)