April 19th, 2021
The trio of Kelly Jefferson on tenor and soprano saxes, Artie Ross on bass and Ernesto Cervini on drums, percussion and bass clarinet create a mix of traditional bop sounds along with some festive free from conversations. Of the latter, you have some loose interplay on “Look Down”, popping reeds on “Sgraffito” and a musical food fight on “Looking Glass”. The team does a slow and bluesy read of Charlie Parker’s “Cheryl” with Jefferson’s sax in rich form, with some nice tones as well with Cervini giving some tribal support on “Hello, Today”. Ross and Cervini create a nice cadence for Jefferson on “Sycamore” and the team is happy as they bop along to “Billyish”. Cervini goes from sticks to bass clarinet with good results on the Old World-sounding “Blue Gardenia” and the floating mist of “Layla Tov”. Artsy ensembles.
George W. Harris