Emotional Breadth and Intense Rhythm Section

Saxophonist Dan St. Marseille reaches a new level of expression on his third recording for his Orange-based Resurgent Music label.

Part of the reason for his newfound intensity can be found in the rhythm section that bassist Henry Franklin assembled for the date. It includes former Freddie Hubbard drummer Carl Burnett and pianist Kirk Lightsey, the longtime Dexter Gordon associate who led the Leaders sextet along with saxophonists Chico Freeman and Arthur Blythe, trumpeter Lester Bowie and others in the ‘80s.

Lightsey’s determined drive and hard-nosed play sets a tone that challenges the others in the band, especially during Wayne Shorter’s anything-but-wooden “Pinocchio.”

St. Marseille, who has always been a competent and satisfying player, seems more willing to push his tenor than on previous albums, striking emotional stances that range from considered delicacy to squealing anger. His play is especially agile on Tom Harrell’s “Little Dancer,” and there’s a definite sense of loss and longing as he works Todd Dameron’s “If You Could See Me Now.”

Lightsey shines on his own “Leila in Blue,” and his bouncy accompaniment on Ray Noble’s “The Touch of Your Lips” pushes St. Marseille’s free-spirited dance into whirling abandon.

It all makes “Departure” St. Marseille’s best recording.

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* Dan St. Marseille, with trumpeter Ron Stout, pianist Joe Bagg, bassist Eric Stiller and drummer Denny Dennis, plays tonight at Steamers Cafe, 138 W. Commonwealth Ave., Fullerton. 7:30 p.m. Two-drink minimum. (714) 871-8800.