An oddity in terms of both jazz stylings and band makeup, TJG is headed up by dreadlocked drummer Sheryl Mebane, an experimentalist in the arts of smoky-bar-jazz and African beats. Mebane original “Bamako Love walk” gets a Nigerian drum-jam dropped straight into it with some bass-spazz foreplay; as background for your wine-tasting excursion it presents the possibility for some comic herky-jerky glass spillage.

Joe Henderson’s “Isotope” is apropos if for no other reason than Mebane’s post doctorate degree in chemistry – matter of fact, all three players (pianist Simon Rochester, representing the sum total of harmonic instrumentation, is kept busy as an octopus with twenty fingers on each tentacle) have advanced degrees, making this appear to be a fun outlet for a troupe of intelligentsia who simply enjoy jazz, period.

By Eric Saeger

Homepage: Tangria Jazz Group