Scott Amendola Band CRY (CRYPTOGRAMOPHONE)

Scott Amendola is the drummer, but you wouldn’t know it unless you’d heard him in guitarist Charlie Hunter’s quartet, because these eight compositions thrive on melody and balance, showcasing mostly the violin of Jenny Scheinman, the guitar of Nels Cline, and the voice of Carla Bozulich, whose raw incantation of Dylan’s "Masters of War" is fearsome and timely. Cline continues to be one of America’s most inventive guitarists, shifting his moods from the sleekness of straight, clean jazz chords to buzzing walls of industrial hellfire. Eric Crystal’s sax lines are always bright and liquid, morphing from solid R&B-style support to a Coltrane-inspired excursion on "Streetbeat," which is also a showcase for Cline’s juggernaut soloing.

Yet it’s Amendola beneath everything, fanning out like Elvin Jones or driving from the pocket like Michael Shrieve. And he’s developed that rare drummer’s skill of breathing with the music — playing slow, soft, and tight enough to pump its heart without making it thump too much, becoming the perfect partner to Scheinman’s singing violin in "His Eye Is on the Sparrow." Eclectic, playful, strung with tuneful passages that suggest joy and sorrow, and blessed by the presence of excellent improvisers, this music is very human. Not jazz, not rock, not avant-garde — simply touching, strong, and graceful.

(The Scott Amendola Band play the Zeitgeist Gallery this Monday, May 12. Call 617-876-6060.)