Jazz Condition -- UPI Arts & Entertainment

Drummer Elvin Jones took hard-driving jazz in a stunning direction in 1971 with his "Genesis" project, a small group recording that teamed him with three saxophonists and bassist Gene Perla. With no chordal instruments involved, such as piano or guitar, it expanded the musical freedom of the soloists.

At that 1971 studio session, saxophonist Dave Liebman was the new kid on the block, making his first recording as a sideman alongside Jones and saxophonists Joe Farrell and Frank Foster.

"Without a chordal instrument and just Elvin's orchestral, oceanic style with bass, a fresh sound had emerged," Liebman recalls.

Thirty years later, Liebman went into the studio with a new collaborative band called "Latin Genesis" to put a fresh stamp on four classic tunes from Jones's original session -- and add fresh material by himself and fellow saxophonists Don Braden and Dan Moretti.

They put a Latin tinge on the music with a talented rhythm section featuring bassist Oscar Stagnaro, drummer Mark Walker and percussionists Pernell Saturnino and Jorge Najaro.

Moretti first approached Liebman about revisiting Genesis in 1997. He said he had transcribed the original recordings and was ready to play.

Liebman was intrigued for several reasons. While Jones had brought three saxophones into the studio to record the project in 1971, that band never went on the road with more than two horn players. Here was a chance for Liebman to carry that torch and also dig deeper into Latin jazz.

Latin Genesis made its debut at the International Association of Jazz Educators Conference in 1999, and stunned many in attendance, including a promoter who immediately booked the band for Israel's Red Sea Jazz Festival the next year. That led to an infrequent series of bookings for the busy musicians involved in the group. And they soon realized that they had something special going that needed to be recorded.

"For me as a jazz player with little experience in the Latin field, I was very impressed with the complex language these musicians use and the ability to communicate with each other in their own shorthand," Liebman said. "Above all, the feeling swings and oozes with energy."

He said the CD honors "an important recording from the jazz repertoire, but adds something entirely new and refreshing."

"It got away from being a 'retro' project by adding the Latin tinge. It transformed it, especially as we added more tunes," said Moretti, who co-produced the project with Liebman.

In terms of the new band's chemistry, Moretti is Latin Genesis's Farrell, while Braden fits more into the swinging, straight-ahead style of Frank Foster.

Braden's original "Vail Jumpers" is a strong wakeup call for the music that is to follow in this recording, which features scorching solos and fierce melodic lines played in unison over exotic Latin rhythms.

The revisited tracks include Perla's "PP Phoenix" and "For All the Other Times," Jones's "Three Card Molly," and Foster's "Cecilia is Love." The latter tune had a bossa nova feel on the Jones project, which inspired Moretti to suggest the Latin approach.

"The band has a unique sound," Braden said. "With the Latin groove, there is a different flavor to it. It is high energy -- almost a fusion vibe. The different drum tuning and the percussion give us a different tapestry for us to play over. There is plenty of room to blow. Plus we are all such different players. And Lieb is such a wild man."

The music continues to evolve and grow each time the band gets together.

"You just go for it. It's like the musical Olympics," Moretti said. "Dave has so much music in him that needs to get out. It's amazing to hear it and participate in it."

Braden said the band's intensity fosters a lot of interaction, trading of solos and collective improvisation. "Three saxophones is a real powerful setting," he said. "The overtones of the instruments really reinforce each other. Dave did most of the arranging and it was first-rate. He really has a flair for making the horns ring with each other.

"This project is really hard-edged. And that's unusual, because a lot of stuff getting attention today is mellow," Braden said. "A lot of cats are playing safe these days."

The recording marks a major step up in visibility for Whaling City Sound, a label from New Bedford, Mass., which has been building its catalog of primarily New England artists for the past two years.

It also shows that after several decades of cultivating his sound in every section of the jazz vineyard, Moretti has emerged as a forceful, dynamic player and an outstanding conceptualist.