Critically acclaimed jazz pianist and composer Joel Fairstein hails from Knoxville, Tennesee. He was just 24 years old in 1978 when he recorded his debut album Umbra with an ensemble of 18 different sidemen. It has since become something of a collector's piece and now gets its first ever worldwide reissue after first being released on a private label. The fantastic jazz fusion sounds have been transferred directly from master tapes so sound superb. It's a soothing, mellifluous album that has aged to perfection with piano jams like 'Tn' next to funky workouts like 'Womanized.'