Dan Moretti and Brazilia: Live at the Pump House/Celebrating Wayne Shorter

While everyone has ideas, some ideas are admittedly better than others. Saxophonist Dan Moretti and Brazilia's notion to salute the music of Wayne Shorter by reshaping and Latinizing eight of the legendary saxophonist's splendid compositions was a good idea. Doubters need only survey the finished product, recorded in front of an enthusiastic audience in December 2024 at The Pump House Music Works in Wakefield, Rhode Island.

Shorter's unique and engaging melodies, several of which are now enshrined in the jazz canon, lend themselves readily to Brazilia's fresh interpretations, wherein the core elements are preserved even as they are enriched by Latin rhythms that add spirit and fire to an already handsome image. Moretti's razor-sharp and focused ensemble is clearly enjoying the moment and leaving no rhythmic stone unturned as it digs hard into every theme with awareness and gusto.

Moretti's partners in Brazilia are pianist Maxim Lubarsky, bassist Oscar Stagnaro, drummer Steve Langone and percussionist Ernesto Diaz, each of whom punches above his weight to enhance what is truly a group endeavor. There is solo room for all, with Lubarsky especially impressive whenever his number is called. As for Moretti, he is eloquent on tenor sax (six numbers) or soprano ("Speak No Evil," "Yes or No)," while Diaz' heavy-duty percussion is an indispensable part of the equation.

The swaying "Black Nile" is first up, read here as a mambo, followed by a cha-cha version of "Fee Fi Fo Fum" and the reggae-infused "Night Dreamer." The ensemble slips easily into a samba-style rendition of "Speak No Evil," followed by the mambo "Witch Hunt," a rhythmically intense "Yes or No" and sauntering "Oriental Folk Song" before bowing out with one of Shorter's best-known and most-often covered compositions, "Footprints."

This is a very good concert by any measure, enfolding an ample reservoir of upbeat and pleasurable music while shedding new light on the impressive compositional skills of the renowned saxophonist Wayne Shorter.