At present the Jacob Fred Jazz Odyssey is likely winging its way towards Europe, where it begins a tour in Milan, Italy on March 15. Over the past weekend though, the group closed out its U.S. Tour with two shows at New York City’s Blue Note. During these two nights the band offered up some of its earlier compositions as well as many of the songs on its latest release, the Joel Dorn-produced The Sameness of Difference. Critters Buggin bandmates Skerik and Mike Dillon were on hand both Friday and Saturday, contributing to notable takes on, among others, ‘Fables of Faubus’ and ‘I Mean You.’ On Saturday night, Marco Benevento literally sat in with pianist Brian Haas as the pair intertwined limbs for an extended run. Jacob Fred will be in Europe through April 9 with no U.S. dates currently confirmed until June.