Monk-Inspired Sphere Doubles the Pleasure

Sphere originated in the early ‘80s as a Thelonious Monk tribute group, recording its first album, coincidentally, on the day that Monk died. The all-star ensemble--which included pianist Kenny Barron, bassist Buster Williams, drummer Ben Riley and Monk’s longtime tenor saxophonist, Charlie Rouse--remained together until Rouse’s death in 1988, performing not just Monk tunes but a wide variety of repertory material.

Now reconstituted, with alto saxophonist Gary Bartz replacing Rouse, the quartet made a rare one-night appearance Sunday at the Jazz Bakery in support of its just-released Verve album, “Sphere.” This is a group that, by almost any evaluation, has the maturity and the skill to perform world-class jazz, and that’s pretty much what happened in Sunday’s show. Working with a Monk tune, a few standards and offbeat items such as Billy Strayhorn’s lovely “Isfahan,” Sphere made no missteps, either individually or as an ensemble, coming up with consistently intriguing interpretations.

What also became clear, however, was that the group is essentially two bands in one. When Bartz, who improvises in a declamatory, melody-driven style, was soloing, Sphere adapted to his approach, easily providing solid rhythm section support for his outspoken choruses. In those passages, the music was a model of straight-ahead rhythm-section-with-a-horn jazz, uncomplicated and consistently intriguing.

When Bartz took a break and the spotlight shifted to Barron’s piano, Sphere’s music became more multilayered as Williams and Riley adapted to the compelling blends of harmonic complexity, melodic flow, precise touch and driving rhythm that are the essential elements of Barron’s style.

The combination of these two different but fully compatible elements resulted in one of the finer jazz evenings of the fall season. Too bad that Sphere was here for only a single performance. Los Angeles jazz audiences deserve a more expansive opportunity to hear these superb musical artists in action.