Replay
Capturing a dynamic ensemble on disc is a tricky business--the studio  often engenders nitpicky cautiousness, while recording a live show compromises  the sound, especially with acoustic music. OnReplay, the genre-bending  quartet led by banjo master Alison Brown finds a nice alternative approach,  revisiting songs from her six previous albums in two days of informal  live-in-the-studio performances. The result is a crisp-sounding and loose-limbed set  that showcases both the range of Brown's compositions--from swing to Latin jazz  to newgrass to chamber pop--and the fluency of the band (John R. Burr on piano,  Garry West on bass, and Kendrick Freeman on drums). Along with her fleet,  filigreed banjo picking, Brown delivers some hot guitar tracks, playing slinky  jazz solos on "Daytime TV" and "The Inspector" and bringing the CD to a sweetly  lyrical close on "The Promise of Spring."--Jeffrey Pepper Rodgers