On his first album, The V.Tet-Octagami, bassist Tom Witek taps into one of the best assets New Orleans’ musical community has to offer—its pool of top-notch young talent. What a miracle of a thing that in this city, with the right amount of connection-making and dues-paying, you can put together a talented group of musicians such as this and utilize them to fulfill your artistic expression. And what a band! Witek has Branden Lewis on trumpet, Calvin Johnson on soprano and tenor saxophone, Byron Asher on clarinet/tenor saxophone, Evan Oberla on trombone, Georgi Petrov on electric guitar, Michael Torregano Jr. on piano, and Trenton O’Neal on drums. 

Witek wrote and arranged the songs on this album, some bursting with vitality, others ebbing into moody sentiment. “Illumination” and “Dead Man’s Dance” open the album with energy, tunes like “Love Sunflower” and “Red Water” take us to more introspective places, “Rynek” showcases Witek’s throaty bass, and “Jozia” leaves us on a dirgy waltz lead by Byron’s klezmer clarinet.