Jerry Bergonzi: Simply Put

Jerry Bergonzi, tenor and soprano saxophones with Bruce Barth, piano • Dave Santoro, bass • Andrea Michelutti, drums

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

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.

Price: $21.98