When Adolphe Sax made the first saxophone in 1841, he could never have imagined how popular it would become.  Its players have frequently been some of jazz's most sophisticated intellectuals of uncompromising artistic integrity.  And in that pantheon of great players, Jerry Bergonzi certainly has earned a penthouse suite.  Bergonzi 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 the music he makes. Muscular, bustling and driven his playing may sound, but there is a profound musical mind behind it.  Above all, his playing is utterly spontaneous and distinctive. It is distinctive spontaneity that reigns supreme on BY ANY OTHER NAME which highlights Bergonzi's formidable composing skills in addition to his instrumental prowess.  Here is an album of tunes based on the chord changes of previously-written works, much the way Dizzy based his "Groovin' High" on the 1920s "Whispering" and Charlie Parker transformed "Back Home Again in Indiana" into "Donna Lee." With Phil Grenadier on trumpet in the front line, hear what the local papers called, "the most powerful band to come out of Boston."

JERRY BERGONZI, tenor saxophone • Phil Grenadier, trumpet • Will Slater, bass • Karen Kocharyan, drums

TRACKS: PG 2013 (Giant Steps) • Of a Feather (Bye Bye Blackbird) • First Lady (Lady Bird) • Sprung (Joy Spring) • Deek (How Deep is the Ocean?) • Wilbur (I'll Remember April) • A Granny Winner (Out of Nowhere) • 14 W. 28th Street (Star Eyes)

 PG 2013

 Of a Feather

 Sprung

 A Granny Winner