Click to hear a clip from the title track "The South of Everywhere."

Jonathan Kreisberg has a healthy appetite for musical struggle and growth, and he's rising to the top of what is arguably the most competitive heap of all, the international jazz scene. Possessed of a stunning technique on the guitar, a firm and imaginative grasp of jazz tradition and a way of turning complex theoretical ideas into music of great warmth and lyricism, Kreisberg is generating momentum and turning heads everywhere he plays.

Like most fine jazz artists, he views the forging of deep musical relationships as a paramount goal. Just listen to the common language he's created with the rhythm section on this album - bassist Matt Penman and drummer Mark Ferber. "These guys can play material that's so varied, and yet it's all so clearly them," Kreisberg marvels. "They can go anywhere without limitations. They play music."

The South of Everywhere, Kreisberg's second Mel Bay release and sixth overall as a leader, bristles with the seasoned rapport that years of weekly sessions can bring about. Kreisberg is in top form - his articulation clean and confident, his ideas ambitious and fresh.

Gary Versace, who has played Hammond organ on many of Kreisberg's gigs, makes vital contributions here on acoustic piano. "He plays some magical stuff," says Kreisberg. "He's super-creative, with great ears, and he brings that touch to everything he plays."

Will Vinson, born and raised in London, now one of New York's strongest alto players, handles Kreisberg's tricky melodic lines with aplomb and performs beautifully as a soloist. "Will's got a lot of soul," Kreisberg observes, "but he also has a cerebral side, and my newer writing was going in that direction. Will's concept lines up with the angle I've been exploring."

Kreisberg's previous Mel Bay outing, Unearth, featured a quintet in an all-original program. The South of Everywhere is a bit different. "Up to now," he reflects, "I've done either trio or quintet, and the two concepts have been pretty separate. On this record I'm trying to present a fuller spectrum of what I do."

The album begins enigmatically, with the guitar sounding almost like a programmed loop. Kreisberg sets up an ambiguous 5/4 feel, and soon the powerful rhythms and spiraling unison lines have the band sounding larger than itself. The music may be daunting, but the geographical reference in the title is poignant and personal:

"I'm drawn to the southern parts of regions, whether it's in the U.S., Spain or Finland," Kreisberg offers. "This music has a feeling I associate with driving down that road. The song just feels like it's heading away from the harsh north to recharge in the south." Kreisberg also has a metaphor in mind: "While ideas may come from the north of the body, the raw energy comes from the south. That's what makes the ideas come alive."