After a delayed start, thrills and sparks fly from quintets

Notes were flying at Royce Hall on Sunday night. Supercharged, high-speed, unrelenting streams of notes pouring out of quintets led by trumpeter Roy Hargrove and tenor saxophonist Michael Brecker.

But it took a while for things to get started.

Opening act Hargrove, arriving 40 minutes past his scheduled 7 p.m. start time, never uttered a word of apology to his surprisingly patient audience.

Seeming more concerned with getting down to business as quickly as possible, he opened with what turned out to be the most laid-back number of his set -- a gentle rendering of Thelonious Monk’s “Ruby, My Dear,” performed with the sole accompaniment of pianist Ronnie Matthews.

After that, it was off to the races. With the exception of another ballad, “The Very Thought of You” and another jaunty Monk tune, “Rhythm-a-Ning,” most of the program was dedicated to up-tempo thrillers.

With drummer Willie Jones III triggering high-voltage rhythms, Hargrove and alto saxophonist Justin Robinson fired off a series of solos exploding into nonstop streams of notes. Technically adept, often musically inventive, music from Hargrove’s group was a considerable improvement over that of the pop-drenched ensemble he brought to the Hollywood Bowl over the summer.

It was no surprise when the famously virtuosic Brecker followed with an equally swift-paced program. It didn’t really matter whether the tunes were fast or slow because, as usual, he ornamented his ballad improvisations with slashing sweeps of notes.

Brecker’s playing was so beautifully articulated, so frequently contrasted with dramatic pauses and occasional long tones, that it always made sense musically -- the compelling product of an ever-imaginative musical mind.