JAZZ REVIEWS : ALMARIO SHOWS HIS COMPOSING SIDE

Justo Almario’s considerable versatility as a saxophonist/flutist who ranges easily across a wide array of styles may have obscured the fact that he is a fine composer as well.

During Sunday night’s Jazz at the Wadsworth concert (an hour of which was broadcast live over radio station KKGO), Almario’s crisply professional six-piece ensemble provided a new perspective on his skills with a program that featured a collection of his appealingly melodic compositions.

Perhaps predictably, the best pieces were those tinged with the atmospheric sounds and rhythms of South America. “Skipping Pebbles,” described as a recollection of Almario’s native Colombian Andes, was that, and more. He managed to reproduce the microtonal ornamentations of wooden flutes on his own considerably more contemporary instrument, and he used wind chimes, water drums and synthesizer to simulate the ambient sounds of the South American countryside.

Almario moved to soprano saxophone for the lyrical “Beautiful” and “Prelude”--the latter a lovely duet with pianist/synthesist Freddie Ravel. His tenor playing on several untitled pieces was fast, vigorous and Coltranesque, but neither as appealing nor as original as his flute and soprano work. While the Almario group revealed the occasional connective flaws one expects in ensembles that don’t have the luxury of continuous performance time together, it played, for the most part, with surprising empathy.

Keyboardist Ravel, in particular, used his solos well, but bassist Guillermo Guzman also made the most of a few moments in the spotlight on “Skipping Pebbles,” and, on another untitled piece, the rhythm team of drummer Gonchi Sifre, percussionist Richard Garcia and guitarist George K somehow found a way to swing in the awkward time signature of 14/8.

Despite his relative obscurity as a composer, Almario’s brisk, to-the-point works revealed a rare understanding of one of the cardinal rules of composition--get in, get the job done, get out and leave the flab for Weight Watchers.