Jerry Vivino

Most familiar to the public as part of the Max Weinberg 7 on Late Night With Conan O'Brien, veteran saxophonist Jerry Vivino's live quartet date at Shanghai Jazz in Madison, NJ, is so vibrant and well played that he probably didn't need endorsements by Keely Smith, Paul Shaffer, and John Sebastian to sell the product. Like all exciting club gigs, there's a variety of moods, tempos, and styles -- and incredible solos as each member takes a moment on the opening tune, "Doxy/Walk Right In." The tune is full of surprises, starting as an easygoing blend of sax and Lew Soloff's trumpet before Soloff takes a muted trumpet solo then a regular trumpet solo before Vivino engages in one himself; after a jumping Brian Charette piano interlude, Vivino launches the second part of the medley with a energetic blues vocal that kicks things up a notch. Not every tune goes in such diverse directions, but the rest of the disc is balanced between blues-drenched, sax-driven party tunes (the organ-punched "Gator's Groove," a later medley beginning with "Soul Serenade") and lovely takes on familiar standards ("Harlem Nocturne"). Vivino mines the colorful Sonny Rollins catalog with swinging medleys of "Blue Seven"/"Caldonia" and "St. Thomas"/"Marianne." No matter the tempo, all seem designed to display Vivino's incredibly rich horn urgency and the effortless support of his eager-to-jam band. ~ Jonathan Widran, All Music Guide