Denver-based cornetist Ron Miles took his beautiful Circuit Rider project with guitarist Bill Frisell and drummer Brian Blade and expanded it in 2017 for I Am a Man, adding Jason Moran on piano and Thomas Morgan on bass. With Rainbow Sign, Miles’ first outing on Blue Note, he keeps that lineup intact for another inspired all-original set. The title comes from the famous couplet in “Mary Don’t You Weep”: “God gave Noah the rainbow sign/No more water, the fire next time.” All the turbulence and portent of 2020, along with hope and yearning for new beginnings, seems to speak through the music.
As a cornet exponent, Miles has proved central to the 21st-century revival of an instrument that reaches far back in jazz history. With his warm and compact brassy sound he spins lyrical threads of melody, creating elaborate ensemble textures and counterpoint that fall together naturally. It’s complex music that somehow doesn’t sound that way. And rather than a showcase for virtuoso soloing from the heavyweight players involved, it’s more a platform for the whole group to “sing” together as they expound on low-key rock grooves (“The Rumor,” “A Kind Word”) and supple and inventive swing (“Rainbow Sign,” “This Old Man,” “Binder”).