Miguel Zenon Quartet, TÃpico (Miel Music)
Since first hearing Miguel Zenon’s quartet well over a decade ago, I have been intrigued by the band’s deepening identity as a unit. Virtuosos all, alto saxophonist Zenon, pianist Luis Perdomo, bassist Hans Glawischnig and drummer Henry Cole have developed a collaborative personality. In his brief album note, Zenon refers to the importance of the rhythm section’s “individual sounds within OUR sound.†Masters of their instruments, not only do the quartet members listen intently to one another, but they are at a lofty level of mind meld. Such harmony of intent and spirit is a hallmark of a few seasoned classical chamber groups. In jazz it happened, for instance in the Count Basie band of the late thirties, the Miles Davis Kind Of Blue sextet and the Bill Evans Trio of the early sixties. The Zenon quartet achieves it throughout TÃpico.