Breaking down the walls

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Coming from a generation inspired by peak-period Miles and Coltrane, the great Detroit saxman sees nothing wrong with maintaining their creative lines of enquiry, and rightly so.

It's demanding work, physically and mentally, but the rewards can be exhilarating. Garrett's opening alto-sax solo, a searing romp through the China-f lavoured centrepiece of his current album, Beyond the Wall, took more than 15 minutes to unfold, during which his latest group built up a mighty momentum that, despite all the technical advances in jazz worldwide, only the best US rhythm sections seem able to create.

Much of this had to do with the lavishly hirsute Jemiah Williams, a brilliant young drummer who demonstrated how to set a burning pace without overpowering his colleagues. His extended 16-bar exchanges with Garrett, full of deft, swooping tom-tom rolls, were models of fluent technique and quick thinking.

Ivan Taylor, a double-bassist whose surging forward motion recalled the great Curtis Lundy, maintained the excitement while another newcomer, Benito Gonzalez, attacked the keyboard in the percussive, high-energy style of a McCoy Tyner or Kenny Kirkland.

This taut mood softened for Qing Wen, a stately piece that combined Chinese harmonies with a lightly Latin beat. Garrett then turned to soprano sax for a charming gospel duet with Gonzalez, followed by Japanese and Korean folksongs that lent an oriental edge to his tone, a muezzin call-to-prayer sound.

A rousing version of Happy People rounded off an evening of top-class original music delivered with complete commitment and just a dash of showmanship. Uncompromising jazz at Ronnie Scott's? This week, yes. Occasionally it's just like old times.

Until tomorrow (020 7439 0747).

Kenny Garrett Quartet
Ronnie Scott's
Frith Street, W1D 4HT