A Grab Bag of Offerings From Across the Musical Spectrum

The pleasures of listening to jazz are many, not the least of which is the enormous range of ways in which the music can be expressed. Here, in no particular order, is a random sample of recent CD arrivals that run the gamut from smooth to rough, with all sorts of stops in between.

Fourplay. “Yes, Please!” (*** Warner Bros.). With an all-star lineup--Bob James, Nathan East, Larry Carlton, Harvey Mason--it’s not surprising that Fourplay produces some of the most consistently musical product in the smooth jazz field. Carlton’s blues-tinged guitar adds an edge to the solo passages, and the pieces, written by all four members, range from frothy music (Mason’s “Free Range”) and seductive vocals (by Sherree, Chante Moore and East) to James’ surprisingly edgy “Fortress.”

Dave Pike. “Peligroso” (*** Cubop). Vibist Dave Pike was deeply immersed in Latin jazz long before Latin music became a front-page topic. A veteran of Herbie Mann’s Afro Jazz ensemble, he played at various times with Willie Bobo, Patato Valdez, Ray Barretto and Cachao (among dozens of others). Here, leading ensembles that range from seven to eight members, Pike offers a tribute to one of his important predecessors, Cal Tjader. Many of the tunes are original, with an added pair of pieces by Bobby Matos (who produced the album) and Wayne Shorter (“Beauty and the Beast”). Pike’s vibes or marimba is up front for most of the program, swinging hard, constantly enlivened by his spirited grunting and humming. There is also some superb trumpet soloing from Carl Saunders and brisk tumbaos from pianist Theo Saunders. Pike fans who recall “Manhattan Latin” will be pleased to hear remakes of “Montuno Orita” (here retitled “Cayo Coco”) and “Sandunga.”

St. Germain. “Tourist” (** Blue Note). St. Germain is the professional alias of Ludovic Navarre, also described as a pioneer of the current European electronica music scene. “Tourist” is a compilation that positions a jazz ensemble within a torrent of electronic sounds and rhythms. What does all this have to do with jazz, and why is it on Blue Note? Good questions, since Navarre himself notes, “I’m not a musician.” His principal talent seems to be the mixing, blending, sampling and looping of dance music. In fact, there is some jazz playing in the midst of a few tracks, by trumpeter Pascal Ohse, saxophonist-flutist Edouard Labor, keyboardist Alexandre Destrez and percussionist Edmondo Carneiro. What they play, aside from the dullingly repetitive sounds Navarre has placed around them, is generally well-done if hardly up to prime-time level. So, to repeat, why has Blue Note released it? Could it be because it’s already sold more than 100,000 copies in Europe?

Dave Brubeck. “One Alone” (**** Telarc Jazz). Brubeck’s first solo piano recording since 1996 is one of his finest efforts. Playing a program consisting--with the exception of his own “Weep No More”--of standards reaching from “That Old Feeling” and “I’ll Never Smile Again” to “Things Ain’t What They Used to Be” and “Bye Bye Blues,” Brubeck brings a rich, contemplative quality to each rendering. Always a master of harmony, he has a capacity to both minimize and expand upon the chord patterns of standard tunes that has never been as crystal clear in his group work as it is here. Sometimes reducing a line to its bare essence, he also doesn’t hesitate to enrich a harmony with dense clusters of sound. Like Keith Jarrett’s recent solo album, “The Melody at Night, With You” (ECM), this is an album that provides deep insights into one of jazz’s most intriguing minds. Appealing as a lovely collection of familiar songs, it also lays bare the essence of the creative process.

Chuck Mangione. “Everything For Love” (*** Chesky Records). If it’s Chuck Mangione, it’s about melody. Nothing has been more consistent about the trumpeter-fluegelhornist-composer’s four-decade career than his ability to create almost instantly memorable themes. And this new release, recorded with his regular working group, is no exception, with pieces ranging from the pensive “Viola” and the Asian soul-sounding (and appropriately titled) “Seoul Sister” to the dancing rhythms of “I Do Everything for Love” and the celebratory, spiritual-like joy of “Freddie’s Walkin’ ” (sung by bassist Charles Meeks). Equally important, as with most of Mangione’s work, the music is assembled with careful attention to detail, featuring compositions rather than the more typical jazz theme-and-solo variations. The result is music that responds easily to repeated listening. At 59, Mangione still knows how to produce eminently listenable jazz.