"Great jazz on this side of the river: The Bob DeVos Trio"

Star-Ledger SPOTLight  Monday, July 19, 2004

BY JAZZ WRITER ZAN STEWART

Guitarist Bob DeVos exemplifies what to look for in a mainstream jazz artist.

First, he possesses an appealing sound, based around a glowing center that spreads out to a winsome fullness, recalling such masters as Jim Hall but much more personal than derivative. Second, everything DeVos plays has an assured rhythmic bounce, a hearty swing. Third, the guitarist is a creative thinker who seeks the best notes for a given situation, and who executes them seemingly without effort. And fourth, he chooses top-rate material and presents it in a way that is both inventive and accessible.

All these aspects were evident in abundance from DeVos' first tune on Friday. The world-class guitarist who's performed with such notables as organists Charles Earland, saxophonists Sonny Stitt and Eric Alexander and bassist Ron McClure did not need a warm-up. He came out cooking.

The West Orange-based DeVos (pronounced dee-VO) was joined by his regular, powerhouse Jersey-based trio mates: Organist Dan Kostelnik (pronounced kaw-STELL-nick) of Newton and drummer Vince Ector of Paterson. This is a compact, intuitive, empathetic band that delivers.

The opening number, "Driftin'," was a moderately-paced Herbie Hancock song with a blues bent but that is not a blues per se -- contained on the leader's recent CD on the New Jersey-based Blues Leaf label, "DeVos' Groove Guitar." As DeVos improvised, playing one good idea, then another, Kostelnik set up a buoyant, translucent pad with deftly-placed chords; Ector added crisp drum work. Then, when Kostelnik soloed, offering blues riffs, lines that ran to high, almost crying tones, and a lot more, DeVos played complementary, rhythmically charged chords, pushing his colleague and fleshing out the sound.

"Angel Eyes," usually a slow ballad, was a percolating Latin number in DeVos' hands, with Ector adding pleasing percussive chatter. Kostelnik's appealing ideas led to DeVos, who scored with several statements composed of few notes but with high rhythmic impact, and with extended lines that unfurled leisurely. At points, he moved from linear ideas to chunky, gleaming chords -- a winning contrast. All in all, a pleasure to listen to.

The set also included the heartfelt ballad, "But Beautiful," the fast-paced "I've Never Been in Love Before," a "burner groove" look at "Walk on By," and the leader's shuffle blues, "Breaking the Ice," from his same-titled CD (Savant). Here, Ector soloed, working from light hits to roaring press rolls...