Samsara
For his post-Zippersdebut, former Squirrel Nut frontman Tom  Maxwell shows great skill at mixing musical languages. For starters, he  opens with asonasolo (that's a Chinese reed instrument,  natch). Then he kicks in with a pair of horn-heavy rave-ups--"Sixes and  Sevens to Me" and "The Uptown Stomp." What stands out in the swing  department is Maxwell's more cabaret-touched approach, less aboutSetzerian flash and  more about energetic detail and drama. Just as asonasolo opens  the album, so too two other Buddhist numbers appear: "Some Born  Singing" and the title track, both sung by Holly Harding Baddour. She  has a voice that peaks and wavers on these Asian-tinged numbers and  then swaggers on "If I Had You," a sultry cabaret swinger. Maxwell  moves in other directions, too: "Flame in My Heart" is aGeorge Jonestune,  faithfully rendered, "Three Fire Blues" is Maxwell as a solo guitar  bluesman, and "You Always Get What's Coming" has the leader duetting  with Tom Loncaric on pipe organ.Samsara's an ambitious outing,  as big in scope maybe as are Maxwell's spiritual notions. This is also  an immense creative success.--Andrew Bartlett