Intimate, small-group synergy from the Denver cornetist and friends

Cornetist Ron Miles brought four colleagues—each a towering jazz talent—to his home in Denver to record I Am a Man, and the relaxed, creative spirit they summoned pervades the music. Having already documented his trio with guitarist Bill Frisell and drummer Brian Blade, Miles expands the frame, adding pianist Jason Moran and bassist Thomas Morgan, giving the music weight and heightening its improvisational reflexes. Miles’ compositions, even at their most involved, give an enticing sense of space and simplicity.