Bo's Art Trio

The droll pseudo-classical band name (a cheeky homage to the venerable Beaux Arts Trio) conceals a fiery swing-to-free jazz group from Holland. Leader Bo van de Graaf gets off some terrific solos on the alto and soprano — the demented bebop of "4 Sake,” especially — but it’s his bruising tenor sax that’s most addictive. Like David Murray, van de Graaf is forging a free-jazz update of the sound of the classic tenor honkers and balladeers — the saxophone as gorgeous brute, its sound at once caressing and monstrous. But where Murray tends to skitter around a bit frictionlessly, van de Graaf has a reckless sense of commitment to his ideas and a sharp rhythmic sense that makes his solos consistently exciting. Drummer Fred Duijnhoven and pianist Michiel Braam are ideal partners — they can play Latin and bebop and free, all at the same time — and you could even imagine old Menahem Pressler himself digging Braam’s Teddy Wilson goes nuts approach to the keyboard.