“MR. BILLY HIGGINS.” Billy Higgins. Riza RRL...

“MR. BILLY HIGGINS.” Billy Higgins. Riza RRL 85-014. Higgins doesn’t seize the opportunity of his first American release as a leader to show off his compositional or percussion chops. Most of the five outside selections here come from the impressive young reedman Gary Bias and Higgins’ drums actually suffer from being mixed too low. The material leans toward a modal/hard-bop vein that falls closer to John Coltrane than the Ornette Coleman influence you might expect. The quartet is accomplished and energetic, but the performances suffer from too light a touch; finesse is Higgins’ stock in trade as a drummer, but periodically applying a bit more muscle here wouldn’t have hurt. 3 1/2 stars.