Jazz Reviews : Ross Tompkins Enhances Cole Quartet at Vine St.

Jam session performances--those instant, unrehearsed jazz get-togethers--can be very good or very bad. Alto saxophonist Richie Cole’s opening-night program Thursday of a four-night run at the Vine St. Bar & Grill fell somewhere in between.

On the plus side, the presence of pianist Ross Tompkins, bassist Chuck Berghofer and drummer John Guerin in the rhythm section brought some coherence and structure to Cole’s spontaneously chosen program of songs.

Tompkins’ ability to create instant orchestrations in virtually everything he plays was particularly helpful. Cole’s peculiar decision, for example, to do “I Can’t Get Started” as a samba was successful largely because of the pianist’s structured approach to his accompaniment patterns. On “These Foolish Things,” Tompkins made the rare choice--in this era of multi-note improvising--of actually performing a ballad without instantly doubling the tempo.

Cole’s playing was more problematic. In the opening few tunes, there was the suggestion of an animated interaction between his saxophone and Tompkins’ piano that boded well for the set. But Cole soon abandoned the more subtle musical linkages for detached, up-front, straight-ahead blowing.

His devil-take-the-hindmost technique was his most engaging quality, in part because--on this set, at least--Cole’s usually powerful emotional energy seemed to be on slow burn. A high speed romp through “The White Cliffs of Dover” best displayed his rapid articulation, and a set of variations on Charlie Parker’s “My Little Suede Shoes” hinted at the whimsy that can be one of Cole’s more appealing qualities.