***1/2 Vandy Harris Jr. & the Front Burners

PURE FIRE

(Katumbi)

This is an album for jazz fans who cherish memories of the earliest John Gilmore and AACM recordings, zeniths of the Chicago avant-garde sound. Harris has been associated with AACM and has performed with Muhal Richard Abrams, but he has a unique sound, both as a tenor-saxman and as a composer. His vibrato can be as broad as Albert Ayler's, and his screaming multiphonics recall Coltrane's wildest expressions. But these aspects of his sax sound find a home in tightly arranged big-band settings, spotlighting melodically engaging original compositions. "Bossa Joya" is a bossa nova with an edgy Chicago feel. "Sabacon" is a probing and moody modal exploration. Harris receives powerhouse support from many of Chicago's best. In fact, Boaz McGee is simply the most dynamic baritone-sax player I've heard since Hamiet Bluiett entered the jazz world. Harris gets my vote for talent deserving wider recognition, and this disc is one of the year's best. (Order from Katumbi at Box 7667, Chicago, Illinois 60680.)

-- Norman Weinstein