Sherman Ferguson's Jazz Union: Welcome to My Vision . . .

Ferguson, a Philadelphian who counts Roy Haynes, Max Roach, Billy Hart, Elvin Jones and Billy Higgins among his mentors and inspirations, is a “musical” drummer who uses his remarkable technique and receptive ear to lay down a handsome carpet of sound that enhances but doesn’t overshadow the group dynamic. The only lapse comes on Billy Strayhorn’s “Lush Life,” wherein Ferguson’s natural aggressiveness weakens its poignant message. “Lush Life” is one of five jazz originals (the others are by Johnny Griffin, Wayne Shorter, Oliver Nelson and Bobby Watson) linked to a pair of compositions by Ferguson (“Mixed Nuts,” “Philly Joe / Jughead’s Hat”) and another, “Spirit of Higgins,” created on the spot by the quartet at Worldstage in Los Angeles a week before Higgins’ death as an impromptu tribute to the ailing drummer.

“Mixed Nuts” is in the New Orleans tradition of buoyant “street drumming,” while “Philly Joe / Jughead” opens with Ferguson’s nimble drum solo before assuming a boppish posture with incisive statements by Randall and Van Taylor (who’s listed on soprano but plays tenor). Griffin’s bluesy “Call It Whachawanna” is followed by Shorter’s ”Lester Left Town,” taken at a much faster tempo than usual, Nelson’s melancholy “Black, Brown and Beautiful” (introduced by Van Taylor’s soprano and Ware’s arco bass) and Watson’s eccentric “Monk He See, Monk He Do.” Pianoless quartets don’t always live up to their basic purpose, which is to swing; thanks to Ferguson and Ware, here’s one that does.

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