“UNDER A BLANKET OF BLUE“: RICKY ALEXANDER, JAY RATTMAN, MATT MUNISTERI at the Ear Out ()

The best band-within-a-band in 2021, no questions: the Mini-EarRegulars, perhaps. Matt Munisteri, guitar; Jay Rattman, bass saxophone; Ricky Alexander, clarinet and tenor saxophone. Later they’d be joined by Jon-Erik Kellso, trumpet . . . but for now, hear soaring, lyrical chamber jazz. For those who haven’t been following, the “Ear Out“ is the space outside The Ear Inn, a venerable downtown New York City bar, 326 Spring Street, Soho, New York. Recorded by Michael Steinman for JAZZ LIVES ().