When young artists release their first album, it's always tempting to say they "show potential" or "are off to a good start," but those comments tend to be kindly veiled takes on "you get an A for effort, but should have waited a bit longer." Jonathan Saraga need not worry about having such pacifying comments thrown his way; the trumpeter's First Vision isn't the stuff of amateurs on the brink of musical maturity, it's a stand-up-and-take-notice offering.

Saraga, who already put himself on the map by winning the 2007 International Trumpet Guild Jazz Improvisation Competition and making the finals in the 2009 Carmine Caruso Jazz Trumpet Solo Competition, is only in his mid-twenties, but plays with the wisdom and maturity of veterans more than twice his age. His chops, lust for musical life and don't-box-me-into-a-stylistic-corner mentality make him seem like the musical offspring of trumpeters