Ronnie Cuber, Ronnie (Steeplechase)
Cuber has been playing uncompromising jazz on the baritone saxophone for more than half a century. With pianist Helen Sung, bassist Boris Kozlov and drummer Jonathan Blake, he is in top form in this 2009 album that escaped my attention until recently. Following his hard-bop gruffness in Freddie Hubbard’s “Thermo,†Cuber floats with tenderness through Scott LaFaro’s “Gloria’s Step†and Michel LeGrand’s “Love Theme From Summer of ’42.†At the speed of thought, he burns through â€Ah Leu-Cha†and “All the Things You Areâ€, giving young Blake a run for his money in their exchanges.