Consenting Adults is a canny take on mainstream '60s jazz by some of the brightest contemporary players around. The frontline consists of tenor saxophonist Mark Turner, pianist Brad Mehldau and guitarist Peter Bernstein. Bassist Larry Grenadier and drummer Leon Parker hold down the rhythm section duties. This is an entirely enjoyable album, if a vaguely subversive one. Actually, its subversion is part of its charm; the players fold themselves deeply into an older tradition (and it's astounding how completely they've inculcated the language of the 1960s Blue Note roster) while subtly including elements of their own vocabulary.

The feat is in how seamlessly they manage this blend. Nowhere is this more evident than on "Belief." You can hear Mehldau combining Herbie Hancock and McCoy Tyner as Turner mixes Joe Henderson and Wayne Shorter. Bernstein then solos while channeling the ghost of Grant Green. This isn't a matter of players with nothing of their own to say stealing from their betters: it's an homage of deep understanding, and it serves as a jumping off point for less direct representation later in the album. In general, Bernstein's playing has a bluesier, more… read more »