The quintet's five song, hour-long performance mixed standards (Ellington's "Mood Indigo ), Young originals ("Bass Clef, "Dizzy Moves ) and two Mingus tunes. In an unusual look at the perennial classic "Goodbye Pork Pie Hat, the group took the theme at an unusually up-tempo 2/4. The closer, Mingus' ambitious reworking of "All the Things You Are, titled "All the Things You'd Be Right Now, If Sigmund Freud's Wife Was Your Mother, was clearly the most challenging chart of the set. Despite rapidly changing tempi and feels, each soloist made sense of the constantly-shifting terrain in a way that was nothing short of inspirational.

After the Dave Young performance, festival goers were treated to a performance by yet another legendary Canadian bassist, Michel Donato—this time in the context of leader Jean-Pierre Zenella's quartet. Zenella, who was seen earlier this week as part of the Lorraine Desmarais Big Band, is a powerful alto saxophonist, whose own projects have looked at ways of putting Brazilian influences into a more contemporary post-bop setting. His group, which also included drummer Paul Brochu and pianist James Gelfland, is the same lineup that he brought to the OIJF two years ago. In a time where so many groups are temporary formations put together for a short tour or two, the chemistry of Zanella's quartet, which has spent some serious performance time together, was instantaneous and palpable.

Zanella combines fluid and free-flowing ideas with the kind of mindset that sees his solos as part of a broader continuum. Gelfland's roots in Tyner and Hancock are clear, but he's no mere knockoff. Another one of Canada's hidden gems, Gelfland plays every note like he means it. Brochu—who first came to international attention as part of the '80s Quebecois fusion group UZEB—has continued to evolve as a drummer. His combination of power, dexterity and, equally importantly, subtlety, makes him versatile enough to be able to realize Zanella's own kind of acoustic fusion. Donato, like Young earlier in the day, has an unmistakable tone and improvisational acumen which is so visceral that when he executes a long glissando, it goes straight to the gut.

But what made the quartet's performance special was its total sense of engagement. Unlike Michael Coté's group from the same time slot on the previous day, Zanella, Gelfland, Donato and Brochu had an energy that reached out to the appreciative audience. They performed originals from their '02 release Mother Tree and some new compositions to be recorded this fall. Zanella's writing is approachable enough to have broader appeal, but also deep enough to bear scrutiny: further evidence of Canada's vibrant jazz scene.

For the second show of the festival's fledgling Improv Series at the National Arts Centre Fourth Stage, British saxophonist Evan Parker demonstrated just how captivating and diverse a single instrument (well, two—he alternated between soprano and tenor) in a solo context could be. Unlike others in the arena of free improvisation who have also created side projects with broader appeal, he remained steadfastly and unrepentantly uncompromising. His advanced facility on his instruments—including multiphonics and a circular breathing technique that allows him to play virtually endlessly without breaking up his phrasing to take a breath—allowed him to deliver a one-hour performance of stunning virtuosity, embodying limitless possibilities. Some of these unconventional techniques are used by others more as effects, but with Parker they're an integral part of his musical persona.

Upon hitting the stage, Parker launched into the first of seven improvisations—a seemingly endless cascade of notes on soprano that ebbed and flowed, waves of notes that would crest and then smooth over into a more even series of repeated phrases, constantly and gradually shifting and evolving. During the first part of the performance, listeners looking for overt melody were hard pressed to find it, but truthfully Parker's improvisations are better experienced than simply heard, demanding that the listener dispense completely with any kind of preconception.

While melodies would ultimately begin to emerge as the concert progressed, Parker's conception was as much about textured aural landscapes as it was any adherence to traditional melody, harmony and rhythm—although clear aspects of all three could be found throughout. And while some of his work can be incredibly dense, he's also aware of the value of space and the importance of giving a note time to breathe.

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