Jerry Bergonzi, a Bostonian who has been plying his trade for more than four decades, has had a notable career as a player/educator that has included quality time with the Dave Brubeck Quartet, among others, and this is the twenty-sixth recording he has made as leader of his own groups. The tenorist is a long-established master of extracting maximum artistry with a minimum of fuss, which masks the fact that there is nothing simple about either the contents or the execution of this release. Spurred by a first-class rhythm section, Bergonzi swings through a program of tricky originals and ingeniously reharmonized standards with unrelenting elan, deploying a richly entextured tone, an authoritative time feel, and a storyteller's sense of how to unfold a narrative arc in notes and tones. Featuring Bruce Barth on piano.

Jerry Bergonzi, tenor and soprano saxophones. With: Bruce Barth, piano; Dave Santoro, bass; Andrea Michelutti, drums

Tracks: Mr. MB; Dancing in the Dark; Casadiche; Come Fly With Me; Wipper Snapper; Out of Nowhere; Crossing the Naeff; Transphybian; What If?; Malaga

Mr. MB

Casadiche

Wipper Snapper

Transphybian