*** Chris Luard's Satin Coast

SOMEWHERE BETWEEN THOUGHT

(Skybow)

Even though these guys play in-the-pocket hard bop, they avoid rote. You can hear leader/bassist Luard breathe with his plucking on the introductory riff theme of "No Pepper Games," and the whole tune flows just like that, one soloist after another, from trumpet to tenor to piano to alto and then back to bass and drums. It's a 16-minute trip that feels like five, all shifting textures, tempos, and points of view.

Maybe that's the deal here: the vocabulary is familiar but everyone has his own thing to say. Barraza gives a squalling sinister take on the riff on "Crazy 8's," setting up the mood for a particularly nasty Lee Morgan spin from trumpeter Justin Mullens. There are echoes -- a touch of Wayne Shorter in Barraza's tenor, Cannonball Adderley in Dan Magay's alto -- but no readymade licks. When you keep spontaneity at a premium, the tradition starts to sound fresh indeed.

-- Jon Garelick

(Chris Luard's Satin Coast perform on WERS 88.9 FM's Jazz Oasis show at 11 a.m. on April 17. They play the Marquee on High Street on April 25. Call 345-5500.)