Jaromir Honzak and his precision Quintet dispense one sultry mellow groove after another. Sculpting mood with a loose modal flow, the Czech bass player and composer exhibits a firm grasp of the intricacies of modern jazz, while showcasing his love and respect for the classics. Recalling several monumental releases of "blue jazz", Present Past harkens most notably to Miles Davis's Kind of Blue. Its ambiance is that of a moonlit stroll, a candlelit dinner, a smoky club, a late night soulful groove with no evidence of time, past or present.

Dictating each song's direction and form, Honzak's emotive bass grounds each song and develops the album's overall sentiment. His strong foundation never sacrifices atmosphere; he allows his fellow musicians ample room to shine and avoids overpowering the individual pieces. Focus on environment, mood over technique and virtuosity is key to Present Past's success.

The Quintet favors mood and ensemble interaction over individual skill, delivering such deft jams as the title track's hipster swing. Said cut opens with the contemporary stylings of a light jazz standard, only to evolve smoothly into a blues-addled samba. Mellow bliss seeps from the sax on "Constant Struggle", creating an atmosphere of pure delight in its melancholy mood. "The Memory Of Grass" has an almost spiritual new age vibe but never veers to the syrupy, instead focusing on the emotion and clarity of the piece's overall expression. Closer "Hi" features the album's only vocals, and again skirts a new agey feel, further building the core ambiance and soulful melancholy.

Present Past's easy flow and significant emotional impact speaks volumes on the abilities of the musicians with whom Honzak has surrounded himself, and of his strengths as a musician and composer. The album's title is telling: Present Past alludes to the perfect blend of contemporary vitality and elegant, traditional melancholy created in these subtle yet moving pieces.