One of the most provocative releases of the year was the ambiguously titled August in March, the third CD by the Brooklyn trio Ember. The tunes (alternately written by all three players) span through-composed pieces to free improvisation, all marked by a compositional attention to texture, form, and dynamics. The three-way free-flow of musical conversation always has a patient deliberation about it, even when it explodes into fast tempos. The moods are evocative — meditative or kinetic — always with a strong sensual narrative current of melody and rhythmic tension, whether in tensile grooves or free tempos. Caleb Wheeler Curtis plays saxophones (including the “straight alto” stritch) and trumpet (including reed trumpet), with Noah Garabedian on bass and Vincent Sperrazza on drums.