A gallery of Tabackin’s artful improv

Opportunities to experience the art of jazz improvisation are rare. What one hears at most jazz performances is the craft of jazz improvisation -- its technique, its virtuosity, its entertainment.

Although that offers plenty of attractions, there’s something even more special in hearing jazz that moves into the heart of the mysterious process of improvisation as artistic expression.

Which leads to tenor saxophonist and flutist Lew Tabackin’s appearance this week at the Jazz Bakery. Working with the empathetic support of bassist Boris Kozlov and drummer Mark Taylor, he played an opening set Tuesday that was a stunning example of a musician in full pursuit of his creative muse.

Tabackin began on tenor saxophone with an exploration of “Sweet and Lovely,” establishing an immediate high point for the evening with a series of organically expanding, growingly complex variations. Starting with melodic paraphrases, he gradually moved into rapidly executed arpeggios interspersed with occasional high-note shouts, reaching a peak of expressiveness in bursting streams of double-time passages.

Other compelling material followed -- Tabackin’s touching ballad “Broken Dreams,” Duke Ellington’s rarely heard “Serenade to Sweden” and a high-speed romp through “Without a Song.” On another original, inspired by Kobo Abe’s novel (and the subsequent film) “Woman in the Dunes,” he switched to flute, his solo’s roving circularity darkly reflective of the story’s sense of enigmatic isolation.

Tabackin offered a brief apology at the close of his set, noting that the trio had just flown in from the East Coast. If he was implying that he intends to take his music to another level -- and even if he doesn’t -- the balance of his week at the Bakery will be one of the don’t-miss jazz experiences of the year.

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Lew Tabackin Trio

Where: The Jazz Bakery, 3233 Helms Ave., L.A.

When: Tonight-Sunday, 8 and 9:30 p.m.

Price: $25

Info: (310) 271-9039