** 1/2 PAT MARTINO & JOYOUS LAKE”Stone...

** 1/2 PAT MARTINO & JOYOUS LAKE

“Stone Blue”

Blue Note

Martino returns to the Joyous Lake formula heard on his misguided 1977 Warner Bros. release of the same name, a formula that places his fluid guitar lines in a more contemporary context.

With keyboardist Delmar Brown and drummer Kenwood Dennard from that first Joyous Lake recording, the new disc will disappoint the guitarist’s mainstream fans who have found his comeback releases for Muse and Evidence of the last 10 years, as well as his previous collection of duets for Blue Note, events to celebrate.

Still, the speeding dots and dashes of Martino’s precise play are as meaningful as Morse code, though, in this setting, they occasionally arrive without context. Bassist James Genus and saxophonist Eric Alexander, both newcomers to the band, make strong impressions.

Despite the predictable numbers (all written by Martino), this date is musical enough that all but the most snobbish jazz purists will hear Martino’s craft come through.