chris wong in sync

On a Tuesday night at O'Doul's, Ross Taggart isn't exactly performing for a responsive audience. All of the diners are at one end of the restaurant, engrossed in conversation and completely oblivious to Taggart's solo piano playing at the other end. But he doesn't seem to mind. Taggart interprets a succession of standards, like "Girl From Ipanema" and "All The Things You Are", with a harmonically rich vitality.

Expect a much different scene Feb. 22-23 at the Cellar when Taggart plays his other instrument, the tenor saxophone, while leading a quartet with Bob Murphy on Hammond B3 organ, guitarist Mike Rud and drummer Bernie Arai. The first time these musicians played together as a band, a year ago at the Cellar, they performed superbly in front of a capacity crowd of rapt listeners. Cellar owner Cory Weeds knew he had to record Taggart's quartet. That happened four months later, when the group played two magical nights at the jazz restaurant/club. The upcoming two-night stand celebrates the release of Thankfully, a live recording that documents those gigs in June.

Right from the first track of Thankfully, the debut release on the Cellar Live label distributed by Maximum Jazz, Taggart and his bandmates radiate an extraordinary spirit of melodic joy. Taggart plays with the warmth, finesse and unerring sense of swing that make him such a valuable contributor to our jazz scene. Aside from displaying an overall musical savvy shaped by years of experience, Murphy shows he's a master Hammond B3 player. Rud, who I have only heard play live once, is nothing less than a revelation. The Edmonton native, who lived in Montreal and studied with the great Jim Hall in New York, delivers fleet guitar lines that demonstrate his world-class talents. Arai, one of my favourite local drummers, provides a robust pulse.

"Shorter Days", one of four originals by Taggart on the live album, exemplifies the quartet's cohesion and individual verve. The title track, "Thankfully", is another strong piece. Sharon Minemoto, the rising Vancouver pianist who happens to be Taggart's partner, wrote the tune. The song also turns up on a new duo recording featuring Taggart on tenor and Murphy on piano: Mysteries and Tall Tales. The album of all-original compositions strikes a completely different tone and pace from the live CD — it's introspective and unhurried. At times their improvisations meander, but Taggart and Murphy still achieve an expressive empathy.

The collaborators worked sporadically on a duo recording for about 10 years. After some initial attempts, they went into Murphy's studio at the beginning of last year. "All of a sudden we hit this zone," says Taggart about the intense session that produced Mysteries and Tall Tales.

They began building their rapport in 1986, when Taggart moved to Vancouver from his hometown of Victoria and Murphy moved back here after a stint in Toronto. "I was pretty scared," says the multi-instrumentalist about that first experience of playing with the nationally acclaimed Murphy. Taggart, who was 18 at the time, developed his resonant sound in big bands at UBC, Capilano College and Vancouver Community College and on the bandstand with Hugh Fraser, Murphy and many others. Thankfully and Mysteries and Tall Tales affirm that Taggart, at the age of 34, is playing with as much confident vigour as ever.