Survival of the Fittest

If you had told me, before I listened to saxophonist Jordan VanHermert's latest leader album, that I would ever find myself happily bopping along to a vigorous sax-and-drums duet, I would probably have said you were crazy. And yet here I am, doing just that — and responding with similar delight to an uptempo sax-and-bass duet arrangement of "Come Sunday." It says something about VanHemert (and about the great drummer Lewis Nash and equally venerable bassist Rodney Whitaker) that such harmonically austere settings can provide so much solid, swinging fun. Of course, not all of the program is built on duets: VanHemert's original "Tread Lightly" is a quartet performance featuring VanHemert and the rhythm section (check out pianist Helen Sung's sly Thelonious Monk quote in her solo), as is a lovely arrangement of the traditional Korean melody "Milyang Arirang." Trombonist Michael Dease, a performer and bandleader of whom I've become an increasingly fervent fan in recent years, produced, and the album sounds magnificent. Highly recommended to all jazz collections.