NEW RELEASES : In Brief

* * * * Frank Wess, “Tryin’ to Make My Blues Turn Green,” Concord Jazz. “Surprise! Surprise!” is the name of one of the five Wess originals; it could well have been the title of the entire album, with its inventive use of the eight musicians, the sax and flute solos by Wess, and an unpredictable set of tunes that vary from gentle to jaunty and even to wistful (Kenny Burrell’s “Listen to the Dawn,” Bucky Pizzarelli’s “Stray Horn”). The non-Wess charts, by Scott Robinson, round out a consistently diverting set.

Albums are rated on a scale of one star (poor), two stars (fair), three stars (good, recommended), four stars (excellent).