**1/2 Wallace Roney

VILLAGE

(Reprise)

The Wallace Roney Quintet was one of the best jazz albums of 1996, so it figures that trumpeter Roney would have to scrap the quintet for this all-star concept deal, which he says is about Africa but, true to Roney form, is more about Africa via Miles Davis's Nefertiti (recorded 1967). That's okay, plop it in your CD carousel with some mid-'60s Miles, hit shuffle, and see whether you can tell the difference. The nods to Africa come in some percussion interludes; the tunes themselves (standards plus contributions by various bandmembers) are okay, but it's the hard blowing that makes Village worth a listen. Tenor-saxes Michael Brecker and Antoine Roney go toe to toe on Joe Henderson's "Inner Urge." Pharoah Sanders makes impassioned, focused appearances on two tracks. Roney's trumpet is dark-hued, vibrant, and still a chip off the old block. Even Chick Corea is here on a couple of tunes to contribute some of that genuine Miles Fender Rhodes sound.

-- Jon Garelick

(The Wallace Roney Quintet, with Antoine Roney and Geri Allen, play the Regattabar this Saturday, September 13; call 876-7777.)