In Brief

*** Scott Hamilton, Ken Peplowski and Spike Robinson, “Groovin’ High,” Concord Jazz. Mix up a batch of the Four Brothers, add a taste of Al Cohn & Zoot Sims, toss in a little seasoning from Jazz at the Philharmonic, and you’ve got a sense of what this album is all about. The three participating tenor saxophonists are straight-ahead mainstream stylists--with Robinson perhaps a bit more boppish than the others--who have an intimate understanding of the values of melody, emotion and swing. Call it a fine antidote for an overdose of drum-machine contemporary jazz.

New albums are rated on a scale of one star (poor) to four (excellent). A rating of five stars is reserved for classic reissues or retrospectives.