In the past, trumpeter and composer Tom Harrell frequently recorded with large groups. But in the last few years, he’s focused on collaborating with his excellent quintet. 2012’s Number Five is his fifth release with that same lineup: Harrell, tenor saxophonist Wayne Escoffery, keyboard player Danny Grissett, bassist Ugonna Okegwo, and drummer Johnathan Blake. Number Five starts with a smoking duo version of Dizzy Gillespie’s “Blue ‘n’ Boogie.” (A number of cuts involve various subgroupings of the band.) Spurred on by hard-swinging drums, Harrell bobs and weaves through the song’s changes with great aplomb, and Blake turns in a dazzling drum solo. The whole band appears on the title cut, which has strong statements from each of the individual members. The Harrell original “The Question” is a lovely, mellow piece for flugelhorn, saxophone, and Fender Rhodes. Two tracks (the standard “Star Eyes” and Tadd Dameron’s “A Blue Time”) find Harrell tackling the pieces without accompaniment. The man has a burnished tone and a sense of lyricism that's a joy to behold.