NEW RELEASES : Young Tenors Recall Mainstream Idols

*** 1/2

TOUGH YOUNG TENORS

“Alone Together”

Antilles

If you teamed five young tenor saxophonists together for a record date a decade ago, chances are they would all have sounded like John Coltrane, producing peals of piercing, passionate tones.

But the sounds created by the musicians on this unique project are closer to the robust, dark strains associated with such earlier sax influences as Ben Webster, Coleman Hawkins, Paul Gonsalves and Gene Ammons.

These Young Turks--Walter Blanding Jr., James Carter, Herb Harris, Tim Warfield Jr. and Todd Williams--can swing like their idols too. The pieces here are replete with fluid-lined, rhythmic performances that hark back to the roots of modern mainstream jazz.

The musicians--aged 19 to 25--are showcased in a variety of settings: Each is given a solo feature and is also spotlighted in a pair of two-horns-plus-rhythm outings.

Blanding, who reveals tinges of Ammons and Gonsalves, scores on the opening blues, “Jim Dog,” offering solid, meaty ideas. Harris, with his thick and creamy sound, is compelling on a slow take of “You Go to My Head,” backed only by Marcus Roberts’ piano. (On all the other tracks, bassist Reginald Veal and drummer Ben Riley add energy to the proceedings.)

Elsewhere, Williams offers a light, dancer-like approach to “Just You, Just Me,” on which Roberts prances Monk-like behind him, and Carter and Harris cook with zeal on “Alone Together.” Warfield is the lone Coltrane-ite here, and his helter-skelter melodic concept doesn’t serve him well on “The Breakthrough”--his feature--and “Calvary,” where he’s teamed with Harris.

The closing “Eternal Triangle,” though slightly chaotic, adds some needed zest to a program a tad overloaded with medium tempos and ballads.

Albums are rated on a scale of one asterisk (poor) to five (a classic).