Jae Sinnett's Zero to 60 Quartet: Commitment

Commitment, drummer Jae Sinnett's nineteenth album as leader, is a generally admirable session wherein his Zero to 60 Quartet is in fact a Quintet on most numbers thanks to the inclusion of renowned trumpeter Randy Brecker who shares the front line with veteran saxophonist Steve Wilson.

The quintet comes out smokin' on Sinnett's "Takin' It There" and pianist Allen Farnham's "Wait for Me," after which Sinnett chooses to slow the tempo and lower the heat, not raising it again until the rhythmic finale, Antonio Carlos Jobim's "Chega de Saudade (No More Blues)." Brecker is eloquent there, as he is whenever and wherever he appears. He steps aside on Farnham's pensive "Be That As It May" (vaguely reminiscent of "Send in the Clowns"), while Wilson does the same on Frank Foster's lyrical "Simone," Sinnett's Mideast-flavored "Muhammara's Dance" and "No More Blues."

The quintet goes Latin on Clare Fischer's "Morning," after which Brecker's flugelhorn takes center stage on "Simone." Brecker and Farnham share solo honors on Hoagy Carmichael's lovely standard, "Skylark," and Wilson switches to soprano sax on Sinnett's shadowy "Guise." As for the leader, he keeps superb time and has only one extended solo, the lead-in to Bernard Ighner's "Everything Must Change." The same can be said for bassist Terry Burrell who takes his lone solo on that same number.

Sinnett's resume as a musician, composer, educator, humanitarian and radio personality is quite impressive, and he certainly lives up to it here. This is an album on which everyone plays well, especially Brecker who never sounds less than decisive and earns the album an extra half- star for his excellence.