Cleveland Jazz Project
Experiment 1 (www.myspace.com/clevelandjazzproject)
The four young musicians (ages 19-21) in the Cleveland Jazz Project met at Cleveland Heights High School and have been playing together for three years. Their debut album shows confident players who've already developed instinctive ensemble skills that allow them to take off on exploratory flights more adventurous than usually heard from such young players. The disc comprises five tracks written by sax player Nathan Davis and pianist Jacob Bergson, and their budding compositional skills are sophisticated for a first-time outing. - Anastasia Pantsios The Cleveland Jazz Project performs at 8 p.m. Thursday, August 14, at Nighttown (12387 Cedar Rd., Cleveland Heights, 216.795.0550). Tickets: $10.
Inhale Exhale
I Swear (Solid State)
Canton's Inhale Exhale survived a year of disappointments to record I Swear, its second album for indie giant Solid State Records, the world's leader in spiritual extreme music. The band's bile brims in songs like "It's Myself Vs. Being a Man." Compared to its previous album, I Swear is both a more brutal and modern take on metalcore - which isn't to say it's essential listening. On Swear's best moments - like album opener "I Needed a Space Ship (Instead I Got Problems)" - the musical mix recalls Every Time I Die's free-form rush of classic rock, metal and hardcore. Even if you don't mind the constant juxtaposition of airy, clean vocal melodies and bucking-bronco riffage, not much distinguishes one song from another. - D.X. Ferris Inhale Exhale performs with Haste the Day, My Dearest Devotion and the Jeffery Allens at 7 p.m. Sunday, August 17, at Musica (51 E. Market St., Akron, 330.374.1114). Tickets: $12.
