JAZZ REVIEWS : GRP ALL-STAR BIG BAND, “All Blues” (<i> GRP</i> ) ***

The studio-based GRP unit, with its multiple arrangers--Michael Abene, Bob Mintzer, Tom Scott, Dave Grusin, Russell Ferrante--suffers from the lack of a single personality. It’s also small in size--13 pieces, with only one trombone (the excellent George Bohannon) and three trumpets--so its sound is slightly diminished from a full 16-17 member unit.

Those facts aside, the group, now on its third recording, offers a relaxed and savvy feel in its performances that wasn’t there when it debuted giving it an authenticity and verve that’s appealing.

The program consists of nothing but blues, but in all manner of moods, from Miles Davis’ swaying title track, where trumpeter Randy Brecker enters angularly and raises one’s ears, to the evergreen “Stormy Monday Blues,” a vehicle for the gritty voice of B.B. King. Among the other pleasant surprises: a three-chorus, full-band transcription of Horace Silver’s piano solo on his “Cookin’ at the Continental,” Ramsey Lewis’ moving, non-funkified solo on Silver’s “Senor Blues” and Chick Corea’s entrancing Monk-ish lines on Thelonious’ “Misterioso.”

All in all, a good introduction to the big-band format for a neophyte jazz listener, and some moments of interest for the die-hard.

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