Jeff Rupert Quartet: Sea Spell

John Coltrane, commenting on the remarkably silken tones generated by fellow tenor saxophonist Stan Getz, is said to have remarked, "We'd all sound that way if we could." Although Florida-based tenor Jeff Rupert is no Getz clone, the sound he produces on his latest album, Sea Spell, comes so close to mirroring Getz that the impression is downright astonishing, not to mention absolutely gorgeous.

The kinship to Getz is most conspicuous in the upper register, which Rupert controls impressively and uses often, as did his illustrious predecessor. He improvises along similar lines, carefully safeguarding the spirit of Getz while designing his own spontaneous phrasing. While Getz performed marvelously in groups of various sizes, he was most comfortable when leading a quartet, as Rupert does here.

Rupert's teammates on Sea Spell are pianist Richard Drexler, bassist Ben Kramer and drummer Marty Morrell, each of whom is a resolute supporter and able soloist who plays a pivotal role in the album's success. Together, they cruise easily through half a dozen of Rupert's handsome compositions and the engaging standards "Spring Can Really Hang You Up the Most," "Mambo Inn" and "Polka Dots and Moonbeams."

"Spring," on which Rupert quickly establishes his post-Getz creds, sets the compass, followed by the leader's meditative "Blue Steel" and Mario Bauza's irrepressible "Mambo Inn." Rupert wrote the album's slow bossa title song and upbeat "Look Who's Calling," which lead to the dreamy "Polka Dots and Moonbeams." The carefree "Breeze Through the Keys" was inspired by a diving vacation, the vigorous "Orca-Stration" by reports of killer whales attacking and sometimes even sinking sailboats. The quartet then turns to one of jazz's earliest and most reliable pillars, the blues, for the genial closing number, "Wednesday's News."

Drexler solos admirably there, as he does whenever his name is called, while Kramer and Morrell provide typically strong yet unassuming support. Rupert, an educator at the University of Central Florida near Orlando and music director of the UCF Flying Horse Big Band, thrives in that climate, establishing a melodic ceiling that adapts readily to his Getz-like solos. While fans of Getz may have mixed feelings about a newcomer echoing their musical hero, the likeness is more inherent than intentional; in other words, that is simply the way Rupert plays the tenor, and if that happens to sound near-Getzian, so much the better, as he is revitalizing the heart and soul of one of the foremost tenor saxophonists in the history of jazz.