If you want the sax, you’re getting it here with the foursome Mark Watkins/ss, Ray Smith/as, Sandon Mayhew/ts and Jon Gudmundson/bs mixing and matching with various other sax quartets. The result is a rich and thick pastry sauce that swings and sways, and through all of the textures it makes musical sense without a tinge of novelty.
There are plenty of rich and velvety moments with the reeds melding together as on “To Be Love” and the lovely “Ballad.” Things get swinging for guest Mike Brignola’s baritone on “I Go Nothin’ But Nothin’” and the mood gets loose and Mingusy on the freewheeling and blue “The Wrong Tree” with solos by Smith and Meyhew.. The reeds pop on the fun “Kilter” and get New Orleans-ish with alto saxist teaming with Gudmonson on the frisky “There You Go Again.” The backing reeds pulse out the beat, others supply harmonies and there’s always lots of textures that are palpable. No one gets lost in the reeds.