Variety is the spice of life. Variety in a jazz quintet is especially delicious. I first heard this group a few years ago at Borders Book and later at a arts and education program where they paid tribute to Thelonious Monk. I thoroughly enjoyed both. The Unified Jazz Ensemble uses variety in instrumentation along with original composition to create “Small Town Stories.”

The group includes Jeff Antoniuk (soptenoralto sax, percussion), John “Big Pants” Pineda (bass), Tim Harrison (piano, flute), Marty Morrison (drums) and Mike Noonan (vibraphone, trombone, percussion). I can’t think of many groups that include this kind of diversity without bringing in guest artists. They use this diversity to change the sound of the group on different cuts and it works very well.

What really impressed me is the writing on this CD. All songs are original tunes composed by members of the band. Among my favorites include Noonan?s ?Big Pants Plays the Groove? (the flute solo is fantastic) and Harrison’s “Highlandville” and energetic ?Orsey?s Blues.? The chemistry among the band members is obvious. This is truly a group in tune with one another. Unified. Highly recommended.

To find out more about this group and purchase the CD visit their website ? http://www.unifiedjazz.com.