*** Mark Elf

THE ETERNAL TRIANGLE

(Jen Bay)

When jazz elder statesman Jimmy Heath brought an all-star band to Scullers not long ago, guitarist Mark Elf was the ringer. Elf played with immaculate ideas, round ringing tone, smart attack, terrific ideas, minimum flash. With big shoes to fill (Tony Purrone's), he went toe-to-toe with his witty, alert elders.

No surprise, then, to find Elf's second self-produced album sporting a great cast (headed by Heath), with handpicked gems set in tidy charts, and that same happy, confident aura pervading the date. Veterans Hank Jones (piano), Ray Drummond (bass), and Ben Riley (drums) address the exceptionally fine book of bop and ballads with aplomb. Classics rendered fresh and exciting are Sonny Stitt's title tune, Freddie Redd's "So Samba," Tadd Dameron's "Hot House," Benny Golson's "Stablemates," Kenny Dorham's "Philly Twist." Not-so-standards handled deftly are Gordon Jenkins's "This Is All I Ask," Ellington's "Prelude to a Kiss," and Jerome Kern's "Why Do I Love You?" Elf inserts a pair of his own standard-based tunes toward the end of the date. No grinding axes or labored overblowing here, just fine playing.

-- Fred Bouchard