" data-original-title="" title="">Brian Landrus' heart is in the right place. Red List, his eleventh album as leader, is dedicated to the preservation of Earth's endangered animal species. Landrus names thirteen, at least five of which—the kakapo, Malayan tiger, gharial, vaquita and Javan rhino—are all but gone, with less than three hundred of each species remaining. In fact, it is estimated that only eight vaquitas (a species of porpoise which mainly lives around Baja, California) are still alive and swimming.

"I've been an animal lover since I was a little kid," writes Landrus, who became a vegetarian at age twelve and later a vegan. The Red List, compiled by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature, is the world's leading source of information on the global extinction risk to animal, fungus and plant species. Landrus is donating all of the proceeds from Red List to the non-profit Save the Elephants.

So much for the rationale. Now to the music. It is pretty good, and certainly well-performed by Landrus' septet and four guest artists: trumpeter