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Yes, there’s room for another Grace Kelly

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Special to The Times

Jazz has had its share of prodigies over the years, as well as players -- Miles Davis was one -- who established their creative credentials while they were barely out of their teens. But aside from pianists such as Eldar Djangirov and Taylor Eigsti, few teenage horn players, and even fewer who are female, have drawn much attention in recent years.

With the exception, that is, of Grace Kelly, a 15-year-old alto saxophonist and singer from Massachusetts. She’s not an actress -- at least not yet -- but she is a startlingly gifted young jazz talent. Kelly performed at several venues around town during Grammy week as a member of the Gibson/Baldwin Grammy Jazz Ensembles. On Monday, she got to appear with her own quintet at the Jazz Bakery.

A slender, smiling young woman with a warm demeanor, Kelly came on stage with the look of a slightly nervous teenager about to give a recital. That changed when the first tune began -- the standard “I’ll Remember April.” Fluent from multi-phonics at the horn’s low end to soaring high harmonics, technically facile even at fast tempos, delivering her notes with a strikingly warm and passionate sound, Kelly played with stunning maturity and an extraordinary command of her instrument.

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Her soloing on “Caravan” on “ ‘Round Midnight” was filled with unexpected twists and turns, and when she switched to soprano saxophone for an original tune, “101,” her improvisational inventiveness immediately adapted to the articulation and tone of the smaller instrument.

That alone would have been impressive, but what was even more remarkable about Kelly’s playing was the maturity of her phrasing, her harmonic choices and her use of saxophone techniques that most players don’t achieve until they’ve been playing for decades. Then there are her well-crafted compositions -- “Filosophical Flying Fish,” “Every Road I Walked,” “Horn Theme Song.”

The final asset in this gifted young talent’s creative portfolio was her singing and songwriting, superbly displayed in her beautiful rendering of her own thoughtful song, “But Life Goes On.”

Kelly was ably supported by a first-rate band -- the fine young trumpeter Jason Palmer, pianist Doug Johnson, bassist John Lockwood and veteran drummer Terri Lyne Carrington. But this was Kelly’s night to shine -- with a glow that is just beginning.

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