JAZZ REVIEW : Cohesive John Guerin Quartet at Alfonse’s

The period of mainstream jazz that drummer John Guerin seems to favor is the late ‘50s to mid ‘60s, when be-bop was gradually, then ultimately, replaced by a style--typified by the Miles Davis’ quintets--in which melodies were given more free reign and harmonies and rhythms were less structured than they had been.

This style can be abrasive and jarring or it can be warm and welcoming. Happily, Guerin and his quartet--which plays Alfonse’s about once a month, as it did Thursday--chose the latter stance.

During the second and third sets of their appearance this week, the leader and pianist Mike Lang, reedman Dave Moody and bassist Herb Mickman (subbing for regular Brain Bromberg) rendered a few listenable excursions, offered with a high degree of cohesion and fluency for a band that works irregularly.

“I Love You” began with a Latin undertone and then gave way to a straight 4/4 groove. Here Moody, who is developing an individual voice on tenor saxophone, played an appealing solo, replete with vaulting chords and convoluted, scurrying lines, where pockets of melodic color were the constant. Lang, who also has an ear for good notes, was resourceful, tying short, vivacious ideas together into longer, more fully flushed statements.

“All Blues” featured Moody on flute, who shifted between fat, breathy tones and thinner, brighter ones. At one point he sang into his instrument as he played, a solid device if not overdone.

A very fast “Oleo” found Lang creating smoothly curved, relaxed lines, with a few ringing, octave passages tossed in. Here Guerin soloed with fire, hitting his kit hard, then pausing, then playing a brisk pattern, then repeating the process.

Mickman, who fit in quite well and played some fine solos, and the leader worked with empathy, as their now-and-then shifts in the rhythmic texture came off without hitches. In fact, the only drawback to the band’s show was the lack of attention many in the audience gave the performers, but then, with Alfonse’s no-cover policy, there will always be some people in attendance who would rather chat than listen.