Album Review : A Confident Debut by the B Sharp Quartet

*** 1/2 ,”B SHARP JAZZ QUARTET” MAMA Foundation

Black Note may have gotten the big label contract, but the B Sharp Jazz Quartet is the best of the city’s young post-bop bands. Its premiere, eponymous release is a confidently written and executed program that sings with promise.

Though there are many fine solo moments, the disc’s 10 cuts find improvisation taking a back seat to composed ensemble play, resulting in a strong group identity and a sound born of interplay rather than individual interest.

The quartet’s best pieces borrow from Thelonious Monk’s quirky rhythms and twist off, often with a funk flavor, from there. Bassist Reggie Carson’s “Analytical Cubism” is a prime example, building on the bass’s alley cat strut as saxophonist Randall Willis and pianist Eliot Douglass slip and slide around its corners.

Drummer Herb Graham Jr., who contributes the majority of the selections, fuses his bandmates’ sounds with sharp punctuation and strongly woven rhythmic textures. Saxophonist Willis, though occasionally relying too much on repetition, makes for a virile lead voice while pianist Douglass provides calm, thoughtfully collected contrast.

The disc’s only borrowed number, John Coltrane’s “Naima,” is served up in a cool, deliberate style that makes for a soothing climax to this fine first effort.