Tuesday Night

Where there was once bristling, beautiful hard bop, there is now Tylenol, toys and towels; what was once a favorite jazz hang called the Hobbit, is now a Walgreen's. But many remember those nights on SE 39th & Holgate. Among the stars on that stage were Mel Brown, Thara Memory, Warren Rand, Michael York, Tim Gilson and Gordon Lee. Well, most of the names have changed, and the venue is now Jimmy Mak's on Tuesday nights. Gordon Lee is a deep and creative pianist whose writing for this hard bop ensemble knows no boundaries. He and Brown continue their lengthy tenures on piano and drums. And here they are joined by Derek Sims, trumpet; Renato Caranto, tenor sax; John Nastos, alto sax; Stan Bock, trombone; and Andre St. James, bass. Eight of the nine compositions are Lee's originals with his high-energy arrangements, and all celebrate the scintillating and timeless style of Art Blakey. The solos are masterful, the ensemble passages are brilliant, and the temperature rises at the sound of this septet in full flight.