Lucas Pino: Covers

Covers is a quartet date in which New York-based tenor saxophonist Lucas Pino "covers" half a dozen generally pleasing songs written by his contemporaries, alongside one each by Charlie Parker ("Relaxin' at Camarillo") and Duke Pearson ("New Girl"). Pino's smooth, articulate tenor saxophone is reinforced by guitarist Alex Goodman, bassist Rick Rosato and drummer Allan Mednard.

This represents something of a departure for Pino who usually records with larger groups—including his No Net Nonet—and seldom covers other musicians' themes. "Playing others' material," he writes, "provides an interesting musical lens for the listener, and an exciting, and sometimes challenging, jumping off point for the artist." This is especially true of Alex LoRe's mazelike "Amnesia," which keeps everyone on their toes while embracing heated solos by Pino, Goodman and Mednard, and evoking memories of Warne Marsh and Lee Konitz.

The session opens and closes in a temperate mood, scanning a ballad ("Moonstone") composed by Toninho Horta and and a "Waltz for MD" by Rick Rosato. Fred Hersch's freewheeling "Phantom of the Bopera" leads to "Camarillo" and Nicholas Payton's congenial "Tryptich." Pearson's "New Girl" is next, followed by Peter Schlamb's "REL," "Amnesia" and "Waltz for MD."

There is no cause to recount Pino's skills—he is a splendid soloist in any groove and at every pace—and everyone else pulls their weight. It should be noted that the session clocks in at a concise forty minutes, or roughly five minutes per tune. Setting that aside, an above-par recording with no appreciable letdowns.