Brian Lynch, featuring Charles McPherson: Torch Bearers

Trumpeter Brian Lynch, who has been at the top of his game for more than three decades, shares the stage with another seasoned maestro, alto saxophonist Charles McPherson, on Torch Bearers, wherein Lynch, McPherson and their able companions not only carry the torch for their generation but offer an upcoming legion of eager young musicians a candid lesson in jazz/bop milieu and design and how best to properly safeguard those standards. They do this without pretense or embellishment, simply by leaning hard into post-bop jazz to draw an empirical road map designed to guide those yet to come.

Lynch and McPherson are aided at various times in making their case by pianists Orrin Evans, Rob Schneiderman or Luis Perdomo, bassist Boris Kozlov and drummers Kyle Swan or Ulysses Owens, Jr., with singer and lyricist Samara Joy added to the mix on McPherson's "The Joy of Love" and Lynch's "Pursuit of a Dream." McPherson also composed the samba "7-24" and "The Juggler," Lynch the bop-flavored "Luck of the Draw" and buoyant "Kyle's Dilemma," the last for drummer Swan who does not solo there but keeps impeccable time, as he does on every number save "Pursuit of a Dream," on which he is replaced by Owens.

Barry Harris' radiant "Luminescence," Dizzy Gillespie and Frank Paparelli's upbeat "Blue n' Boogie," and Johnny Burke and Jimmy Van Heusen's lovely ballad, "But Beautiful," round out the handsome program. Needless to say, neither Lynch, McPherson nor anyone else is less than stellar on every number, and their astute solo statements are a pleasure to hear. As for Joy, she is tasteful and steady even though somewhat overrated by the jazz community as a whole.

While "Luck of the Draw" is an engaging opener, the quintet really hits its stride on "Kyle's Dilemma," "7-24" and "Luminescence," which follow Joy's first vocal, on "The Joy of Love," and precede the second, "Pursuit of a Dream." "The Juggler"'s walking groove suits the quintet perfectly, and is a splendid preamble to "But Beautiful" and the closing "Blue n' Boogie." In sum, an impressive session wherein the Torch burns brightly and everyone is well-served by the warmth and brilliance of its enduring flame.