All the best new jazz releases reviewed

ART PEPPER Unreleased Art, Vol 1: The Complete Abashiri ConcertArt Pepper Music Corporation *****

Issued by Pepper's widow, this double comes from a concert recorded with his best working rhythm section - George Cables (piano), David Williams (bass) and Carl Burnett (drums) - only seven months before Pepper died in 1982.

If the sound is surprisingly good, the playing is often astonishing. The great altoist could pack so much raw emotion into his work that he made most others seem like dilettantes. Pepper had also grown more at ease with the (relatively) freer aspects of his playing; they made it even more expressive without compromising his sense of focus or the shape of his improvisations. Standouts include a lovely, yearning Body and Soul, Besame Mucho, a take-no-prisoners Straight Life, Goodbye(with Cables outstanding) and a fine Rhythm-a- Ning. As always, Pepper played as if there were no more tomorrow; this time, he had few left. www.cdbaby. com RAY COMISKEY

DAN NIMMER Kelly Blue Venus ***

Nimmer is a talented young pianist whose exuberant take on the late Wynton Kelly's style has won him some enthusiastic admirers in the US and elsewhere, particularly in Japan, where the taste for piano trios seems insatiable. And on this tribute to Kelly, it's not hard to understand why. Backed by bassist John Webber and Kelly's old colleague, drummer Jimmy Cobb, Nimmer swings with ferocious good humour and technique through a selection of pieces, including Kelly originals Temperanceand Kelly Blue, and such standards as Autumn Leaves, On a Clear Dayand Close Your Eyes, along with some attractive compositions by Nimmer. It's a totally derivative approach, and only time will tell if Nimmer develops his own voice. But what can't be denied is the feelgood factor that pervades the whole joyously freewheeling session. www.eastwindimport.com RAY COMISKEY

JERRY BERGONZI Tenor Talk Savant ****

Influenced by Rollins, Coltrane, Hank Mobley and Joe Henderson, over the years Jerry Bergonzi has forged for himself a tenor style that is much more personal than might be apparent at first hearing. Bergonzi has a craftsman's concern with structure and a unique, often garrulous solo style, leavened with a sure feel for tension and release. And he has a marvellously cohesive, swinging, longtime rhythm section in Renato Chicco (piano), Dave Santoro (bass) and Andrea Michelutti (drums). On what amounts to a superior blowing session with no ventures into the unknown, both Bergonzi and Chicco deliver a succession of fluent, imaginative solos in a programme of thoughtfully crafted originals by the leader. Fans of the style epitomised by Mobley and Henderson, in particular, should love it. www.jazzdepot.com  RAY COMISKEY