Jazz Reviews : Eric Marienthal Quintet Attacks Set With Fervor

Squeezing the music of Eric Marienthal’s high energy ensemble into the intimate confines of Le Cafe’s upstairs jazz room in Sherman Oaks is a bit like trying to contain a windstorm in a pup tent.

Fortunately, the saxophonist’s first set Monday night managed, for the most part, to keep the musical quality as high as the decibel power. Performing pieces that were drawn from his newly released GRP album, Marienthal--perhaps best known for his work with Chick Corea’s Elektric Band--sounded like a player who is on the verge of discovering his own musical personality.

Two or three tunes into the set, Marienthal moved past the David Sanborn riffs that are the starting points of his style and progressed into several high-flying solos that were his, and his alone. “Reunion,” co-composed with bassist John Patitucci, triggered an improvisational tour through the harmonic outer limits; on “Lee Ann,” written for his wife, Marienthal abruptly shifted gears, revealing a warmth and subtlety not always present in his up-tempo playing.

There were, however, a few problems. Marienthal’s band--Patitucci on bass, Pat Kelly on guitar, Mitchell Forman on keyboards, John Ferraro on drums--was not, except for Patitucci, present for the recording. They were obliged, as a result, to place a bit too much focus on reading charts rather than exploring the music.

In general, however, the band matched Marienthal’s fervor, with Patitucci, in particular, acting as a virtual musical partner, and Forman contributing several vigorously creative solos.