" data-original-title="" title="">Leigh Pilzer, that is far more than a catchphrase: it is a grim yet ultimately happy reality. In 2017, Pilzer was diagnosed with cancer. After extensive treatments, her odds of surviving more than five years were reckoned as around thirty percent. But six years have gone by, and not only has Pilzer beaten the odds, she is cancer-free, back in the saddle and performing again.

And not only performing but writing and arranging almost every number on her second album and first as leader of Leigh Pilzer's Seven Pointed Star. The seven refers to septet, and Pilzer oversees two of them, the first (an all-female ensemble) on Tracks 1-5, the second on Tracks 6-9. The music is thematic with a purpose: the opening five numbers relate to Pilzer's battle with cancer, the others to the devastating COVID-19 pandemic that arrived shortly afterward.

Setting aside the themes, what we have is a series of bright and engaging songs marvelously performed by Pilzer's dual septets (and octet on "How Much Longer," thanks to the welcome presence of percussionist