Stéphane Mercier: Live At The Jazz Station

A graduate of the Conservatoire Royale de Bruxelles and Berkley College of Music—where he was lead alto in Herb Pomeroy's big band—Belgian saxophonist Stéphane Mercier has been leading/co-leading groups since the mid-'90s. This live album, captured from a gig at The Jazz Station, the famous Brussels venue in whose long-standing big band Mercier sits. That chair has allowed him to collaborate with the likes of Kenny Werner, Gregoire Maret, Jason Rebello and Emil Viklicky. Mercier also thrives in small ensemble settings as this energized, predominantly straight-ahead quartet outing demonstrates.

Six compositions weighing in at around the hour in total allow plenty of room for soloing from the leader, bassist Nicolas Thys, pianist/keyboardist Nicola Andrioli and drummer Darren Beckett. Bebop and swing provide the templates for the most part, with a head-solo-solo-head architecture dominating. But more modern aesthetics also make themselves felt. Thys, who excels on double bass on five of the tracks, plays electric bass on "Quantum Stereo," while Andrioli switches between stylish bop-leaning piano and, on several tunes, fusion-esque synthesizer. Mercier chips in with some effects, though where pedals start and where keys end is not always clear.

The one standard is Richard Whiting's much-covered "My Ideal," which features extended solos—and fine ones at that—from Mercier, Andrioli and Thys. More contemporary sounding in both its melodic hues and steady rhythmic pulse is "Calling Colescott," which sees extended synthesizer input from Andrioli. On both acoustic and electric keys, the Italian musician—who also plays in Philip Catherine's trio— plays with an attractive balance of flair and economy.

It is back to basics on "Multi-Tonic Society," a bebop burner bookended by scurrying unison heads, and fueled by swinging rhythms and pumped solos. There are shades of Charlie Parker and Jackie McLean here, the latter who was a particular inspiration for Mercier when starting out. And if "Belgian Flies" threatens to follow suit with its bebop head, fast-walking bass and scorching alto saxophone solo, it is then sharply redirected by an electric keyboard passage that owes more, conceptually speaking, to Sun Ra than, say, Al Haig or Bud Powell. Beckett has some fun with a feisty solo, refreshingly free from vamp accompaniment, before the quartet re-wraps itself in its bop robes to unite on the outro.

An entertaining programme ends with "Blizz," which transitions from feel-good swing—marked by a wonderful intervention from Thys—to curiously subdued ambient terrain and back again.

Whether the occasional electric and ambient forays ruin a perfectly good acoustic jazz workout or whether they freshen up a tried-and- tested formula is a matter of personal taste. Where there should be no dispute, however, is in the top-notch quality of the playing.

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