An all-star assemblage

Think jazz, and one of the first aural images that comes to mind is the sound of the saxophone: the sensual timbres of Ben Webster’s tenor, breathily exploring the dark heart of a ballad; Charlie Parker’s nimble alto, effortlessly lifting through the rapidly moving harmonies of bebop; John Coltrane matching the sweetness of his soprano to the musical cornucopia of “My Favorite Things.”

Different sounds and manners, yet all tracing to the saxophone’s seemingly infinite range of musical possibilities. So when three world-class saxophonists get together for a high-level musical conference, there’s no telling what might happen.

“Saxophone Summit” (Telarc Records) features Michael Brecker, Joe Lovano and Dave Liebman, arguably among the finest of the instrument’s contemporary practitioners. Although all have come to maturity in the stylistically unfocused post-Coltrane decades, each has taken what he can use from the pervasive Coltrane influence, fashioning an expressive point of view driven by his own unique life experiences.

Affected by Coltrane, in other words, they have at the same time never been trapped in the chains of simulation that have handicapped the playing of so many of their contemporaries.

All-star “summit” sessions often turn out to be vanity battles -- individual competitions rather than collective efforts to make music together. Occasional passages surface in “Saxophone Summit” in which each of the trio of saxophonists has an opportunity to display his most virtuosic wares. But far more often this is an extraordinary meeting of musical minds -- loose and freewheeling on Lovano’s “Alexander the Great,” serenely meditative on Coltrane’s “Peace on Earth” and bursting with imaginative energy in the wide open, free improvisations of Brecker’s “Gathering of Spirits.”

The album’s production wisely places each of the players in a specific position in the mix, with Lovano heard in the left channel, Liebman in the center and Brecker in the right. The positioning affords a fascinating opportunity to hear the subtle differences as well as the commonality of these three gifted artists. And the sturdy rhythm section support of pianist Phil Markowitz (who also composed the harmonically piquant, metrically compelling “The 12th Man”), bassist Cecil McBee and drummer Billy Hart adds the final touch to a display of contemporary jazz saxophone playing at its finest.

*

Stacks of sax tracks

Here are other recent, compelling jazz saxophone CDs: Bunnett, Garbarek, Marsalis and Sanchez.

*

Jane Bunnett

“Red Dragonfly

(a.k.a. Tombo)” (Blue Note)

Canadian soprano saxophonist and flutist Bunnett shifts her focus from the Cuban rhythms that have dominated her recent efforts -- but not too far away. Three Cuban songs are included in a marvelous collection that also features songs from Africa as well as Brazil and Japan . Bunnett performs with her regular quintet, which also features her husband, trumpeter Larry Cramer, and pianist David Virelles, supplemented by the Penderecki String Quartet. Many of the pieces -- including the Japanese title track, the traditional “Black Is the Color,” the Native American “Witchi Tai To” and the Cuban/Yoruba “Divule Oni” -- are based on relatively simple melodies. The album’s arrangers, Virelles and Don Thompson, reach for the lyrical hearts of each tune, providing ideal settings for Bunnett’s solos to arc from pensive quiet to a joyous, free-flowing swing.

*

Jan Garbarek

“In Praise of Dreams”

(ECM Records)

Garbarek’s first album in six years is a mesmerizing example of the Norwegian saxophonist’s unique view of jazz. Performing with violist Kim Kashkashian and percussionist Manu Katch, he positions his tenor and soprano saxophones in his own synthesizer and sampler-driven sound designs. The results are intensely atmospheric, at times as chilly as a Norwegian fjord, at other times superheated with fires of free jazz. Kashkashian’s viola adds a dark, introspective quality that differs dramatically from the occasional unexpected outbursts of hypnotic grooves and Latin sensuality.

*

Branford Marsalis

“Eternal” (Marsalis Music)

Marsalis’ great versatility has sometimes been his greatest handicap. Fully capable of playing in almost any style or genre, he has focused too rarely upon consistently illuminating his own creative vision. “Eternal” springs from a desire to tap into the emotional aspects of that vision via an album of ballads. It’s a good idea, and one that generates some of Marsalis’ most interesting playing of recent memory. His honeyed soprano saxophone sound is applied, especially on “The Ruby and the Pearl,” to a jaunty improvisational phrasing suggesting the emergence of an attractive new declamatory aspect of his playing. Other tunes, notably the lengthy tribute to his wife on “Eternal,” display a welcome willingness to explore the most mature area of the improvisational art -- the emotional depths of simplicity.

*

David Sanchez

“Coral” (Columbia)

This Puerto Rican-born saxophonist takes on the formidable task of playing a collection of works by Latin American composers -- Heitor Villa-Lobos, Alberto Ginastera and Antonio Carlos Jobim -- in an orchestral setting with the City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra. The orchestrations, by conductor Carlos Franzetti, emphasize the works’ lush Impressionist harmonies in settings that occasionally recall the classic Stan Getz-Eddie Sauter “Focus” recording. Sanchez adapts well to the atmospheric environment, playing with a warm, vocalized sound on both tenor and soprano saxophones. Only a few tracks, however -- such as “The Elements II” -- fully display the muscular improvisational authority that is an essential aspect of his style. And the bursts of energy seem largely responsive to the similarly electrifying soloing of his frequent companion, alto saxophonist Miguel Zenon, and the driving rhythm work of pianist Edsel Gomez, bassist John Benitez, drummer Adam Cruz and percussionist Pernell Saturnino.