Charlie Kohlhase & Michael Marcus: Soaring Saxophones

A Charlie Kohlhase gig is one of the surest bets on the Boston jazz scene. His first meeting with New York saxophonist Michael Marcus at the Regattabar a week ago Tuesday was no exception. During their opening set, the saxophonists challenged and inspired each other, and the quartet, featuring longtime Kohlhase associates bassist John Turner and drummer Matt Wilson, quickly developed into a unit that was spontaneous, entertaining, and challenging.

Kohlhase mines the tradition for some of the wittiest and most historically informed avant-garde jazz heard today. In his solo on the first number, Marcus's "Gummin'," you could hear distant echoes of Lee Konitz, John Tchicai, and Charlie Parker in the way he developed his solo. He worried phrases into new shapes, varied the pacing and density of his lines, twisting them in unpredictable directions, then erupted into bluesy riffs at the climax.

Kohlhase tends to work his way slowly to a high emotional pitch. Marcus, on the other hand, often leapt in with slashing, angular lines and quick jabbing riffs that established a charged emotional tone. He did that on "Kingdom's Chair," and behind his solos you could sense Eric Dolphy's harmonic adventurousness and Rahsaan Roland Kirk's blues-drenched emotionalism. Kirk is an obvious touchstone for Marcus; for this performance he played the rarely heard saxello and stritch, two horns that Kirk often used. On "Julius/Mirrors," Marcus opened playing both his horns at once (also a favorite Kirk technique), then turned to the stritch, which is essentially a straightened alto saxophone with a darker tone, for a bold solo full of fluttering lines and hard-hitting repeats.

Turner and Wilson helped everyone dispel the inevitable first-gig stiffness before the end of the first number. With the antic Wilson busy adding percussive color and offering elaboration and support of the soloists' ideas, Turner was often the rhythmic anchor -- a job he fulfills with drive and imagination. And unlike most drummers, Wilson never lets his solos feel like a percussion interlude within a tune. He realized his solo on "Gummin' " like a horn player, creating and developing melodic contours on his tom-tom and bass drums, and using dynamics for dramatic underscoring.

The talented Marcus has not received the attention he deserves, but he is increasingly busy as a leader and sideman. Recently he recorded two albums with legendary saxophonist Sonny Simmons, and he wrote many of the arrangements heard on the homonymous 1996 Qwest release by the Saxemble, who include fellow reed players James Carter and Frank Lowe. Marcus's third album as a leader, the recent Reachin' (Justin Time), featuring Saxemble drummer Cindy Blackman, former Sun Ra guitarist Bruce Edwards, and bassist Steve Neil, further extends his streak of superior new-jazz recordings.

Reachin' displays an unusual range and depth of mood, from the carefree "Along the Line" to the spiritually questing "Psalm Walk" and the explosive, agitated saxello-drum duet "Into Nowheresville." Marcus plays with immediacy and naked emotionalism throughout, creating solos of riveting drama on "Forgotten Paradise" and "Stritch'n." The rhythm section keeps a swinging groove but knows how to bend and take the music further out. Marcus has a duet album with pianist Jaki Byard on Justin Time due soon; it should add to the evidence of his ability to wed the old and new into powerful, personal music.

-- Ed Hazell