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****Rova Saxophone Quartet

THE WORKS (VOLUME 1)

(Black Saint)

These Bay Area saxophonists have been performing as long as the better-known World Sax Quartet, but that group's fame has, unjustly, eluded them. Unlike the WSQ, Rova improvise around complicated and open-ended themes usually free of blues or swing references. This means that some of their recordings are so abstract, discovering a hummable pattern, even one that lasts three measures, is a daunting task.

This album consists of works written specifically for Rova that have plenty of recognizable musical touchstones. Jack DeJohnette's "Suite for a Better World" might be the finest Rova performance on record: a subtle texturing of Latin dances bookended with free blowing. "Colors," by the late clarinettist and composer John Carter, is an equally inspiring composition that lets each Rova member radically reshape the piece's emotional focus through extended solo sections. The Works is a sterling example of freewheeling jazz within well-defined structures.

- Norman Weinstein

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