Notes Fly Out of Osby’s Sax in Flurries

Greg Osby’s performances can best be described as mixed blessings. The virtuosic, 39-year-old alto saxophonist has the technique to play almost anything that comes into his mind, at any speed. He also possesses a warm, dark-toned sound and the sort of omnivorous musical intelligence that opens his creativity to myriad inputs.

So far, so good. And on Tuesday at the Jazz Bakery, in the opening set of a six-night run, and working with a first-rate ensemble that included pianist Jason Moran, bassist Vashon Johnson and drummer Derrek Phillips, most of those qualities were amply present. A series of free-floating improvisations was executed with startling quickness, Osby squeezing out one blinding burst of notes after another. On the only ballad of the set, “I Didn’t Know About You,” he shifted briefly into lyrical mode, enhancing his phrasing with a lush, sensuous tone.

However, for most of his set, the intensity level had considerably less contrast. Osby’s virtuosity was far too dominant; only rarely did he elect to play one note when a sequence of 10 or 20 was available. And, even during his ballad improvisation, he was quick to contrast his more melodic moments with blinding, note-filled flurries.

Osby is clearly a major league jazz artist, in virtually every sense. But, despite his obvious abilities, his most communicative passages took place when he was working familiar material--Horace Silver’s “Song for My Father,” a Charlie Parker blues--rather than when he was in the process of spontaneous musical invention.

His recordings have found him in the company of everyone from rap artists to veteran mainstream guitarist Jim Hall, so there’s no questioning his versatility. But Osby needs to bring a more focused approach to his music, one that allows him to invent freely, while still framing his remarkable skills in a more communicative manner.

BE THERE

The Greg Osby 4 at the Jazz Bakery, 3233 Helms Ave., Culver City. (310) 271-9039. $20 admission tonight, Friday and Saturday at 8 and 9:30 p.m., and Sunday at 7 and 8:30 p.m.