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Rochester’s Blue Avengers is a jazz/soul quintet led by Bob and Alana Miller. The Millers are possessed of an international background in music separately acquired before they met in 1999 and subsequently formed the band which they front. CHASING RAINBOWS IN THE DARK is their second release; while their first disc was heavy with outside compositions, every tune on CHASING RAINBOWS IN THE DARK but one ( “Walk The Dog And Light The Light” by Laura Nyro) is composed by one of the Millers. The result is an intimate project that is well-suited to Alana’s vocal talents.

Alana puts one in the mind of Maria Muldaur’s early solo albums following her work with (ex) husband Geoff and the Kweskin Jug Band . Occasionally the tracks, on tracks such as “In From The Cold,” sounds like 10,000 Maniacs at their more introspective. A note here: the band members are really tight, both individually and as a unit. Check out the jazz/blues groove on “Feed The Flame,” with the tasteful guitar licks provided by Bob, the subdued piano riffs from Bob Ott, and  the in-the-pocket rhythm section courtesy bassist Christian Northington and drummer Kristen Shiner McGuire. There is a danger inherent in projects such as these that everything will begin to sound the same about five or six tracks into it. Blue Avengers avoid this trap nicely, partially by attentive sequencing but mainly by artful composition and arrangements which don’t stick to one genre throughout. The result is a project that holds up well to repeated examination. Even “Walk The Dog And Light The Light” --- an odd choice, that, not one of the better known items from Nyro’s songbook --- stands up so well that the band makes the song their own.

Blue Avengers, as with many bands, is composed of individuals who have other vocational obligations which prohibit them from broadening their geographical performance range. If they continue the practice of focusing on their own compositions, however, as evidenced by CHASING RAINBOWS IN THE DARK, they might want to think about giving up those day jobs. Recommended.