Pete Mills: For the Record

On For the Record, tenor saxophonist Pete Mills and his quartet hit their swinging stride on "Bird Lives," a radiant salute to the peerless Charlie Parker that serves as the centerpiece of an otherwise consistently strong and engaging studio date that spans a wide-ranging area of contemporary post-bop jazz.

The Canadian-born, Ohio-based Mills leads an ensemble that has been working together for more than a decade and whose interplay is near-telepathic. Organist John Eshelman and guitarist Tom Davis supply rhythmic and harmonic cover, while drummer Zach Compston shines with sticks or brushes (as on his own composition, "Z Is for Zadie," written to celebrate the birth of a niece). Compston also wrote the gentle waltz-like finale, "Baby Simon."

As for Mills, he composed three of the album's nine numbers, as did Davis, while Eshelman authored the shuffling, deeply grooved opening theme/title song. Mills, who is about as creative and well-spoken as tenors come, solos strongly here, as he does on every number, and especially on the flag-wavers, "Bird Lives" and "Jammy Git." Eshelman and Davis are in the same league, delivering several astute and perceptive statements aimed at keeping Mills alert and on his game.

Davis wrote "Jammy Git," the warmly melodic "The Visitor" and upbeat "Kenny, Ken," an ardent tribute to fellow guitarist Kenny Burrell. Mills also composed and arranged the quasi-Latin charmer, "The Kid," and fast-paced blues, "Step on It." In sum, a stellar session with an abundance of bright and pleasurable moments that help raise it well above the norm.