ALBUM REVIEWS : **** CLIFFORD JORDAN/JAMES WILLIAMS/RICHARD DAVIS/RONNIE BURRAGE : “Four Play” : <i> DIW Records</i>

Recorded last year in Tokyo, the tenor saxophonist, pianist, bassist and drummer respectively sound like old, old musical friends; however, this melody-reigns session is their first date as a unit. Jordan, renowned for his robust, mahogany-tinged tone, has rarely been so perfectly captured in a studio--his low notes purr, his vaults into the upper reaches resonate and gleam. His partners prance, too, as on “I Mean You,” where Williams’ harmonic acuity and skillful note choice are buoyed and bounced about by Davis and Burrage. Jordan’s “Tokyo Road” is a spirited reworking of “Love For Sale” minus the bridge and “For My Nephews” is an attractive Williams waltz that’s pretty but not cloying.

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