John Patitucci, like fellow former Chick Corea bandmate Stanley Clarke, is one of only a handful of virtuosos equally fluent on the acoustic and the electric bass. Patitucci has ventured into fusion, smooth sounds and several other shades of jazz over the course of the eight rather uneven solo discs he's released since his eponymous 1987 debut album. Whether in mainstream or contemporary settings, Patitucci indeed drives a mean groove, and he's a reliable source of inspired, lightning-speed solo work.

But his compositions have often left me cold, and his talents arguably have been better displayed on trio recordings with pianists Lynne Arriale, Monty Alexander and Christian Jacob, and outings led by Corea, Gary Burton, Bob Berg, Joanne Brackeen, Steve Khan, Michel Camilo, Mike Stern and West African guitarist Ali Farka Toure, respectively. Not to mention his recent Hudson Project collaboration with John Abercrombie, Peter Erskine and Bob Mintzer.

The bassist, for his ninth and maybe most accomplished album as a leader, experiments with a brainy brand of Latin jazz, and the results are so appealing that one wonders what took him so long to wander down this path. Patitucci, Danilo Perez, Giovanni Hidalgo and Havana-born drummer Horacio "El Negro Hernandez," on the opening "King Kong" deliver Afro-Cuban rhythms intoxicating and authoritative enough to convince anti-Castro activists to let cultural freedom ring in South Florida. (Then again, considering Hurricane Elian ...)

An elongated, Corea-influenced line, shared by Perez and tenor saxophonist Chris Potter, sounds the melody, and then the bassist is loosed on the changes for a typically fleet-fingered, woody attack. A similar approach is employed by the same ensemble on the title track, with its head, reminiscent of old-school ECM, played on soprano, and Patitucci stretching out on six-string. As ever, his electric lines are clean, warm and clearly articulated.

Patitucci loses the percussionists and gains drummer Jack DeJohnette for a trio of stimulating post-bop workouts: The waterfalling "Little Steps" benefits from the spirited give and take between tenor men Potter and Mark Turner, "The Well" is a friendly, slowly twisting piece topped by Potter and inspired by a New Testament story, and Turner returns for the conversational, loose-limbed "Essay."

Romance colors the sound of "Joan," a delicate ballad, beautifully stated by Potter, written for the memory of Patitucci's late mother. "Imprint" is sprinkled with several duets, including the 42-second "Maroon Bells," with twin, ringing Kalimbas (thumb pianos), and "Japanese Folk Song," a New Age-ish composition pairing sensitive bowing with John Beasley's piano. "Afro-Blue" pairs the leader with Hidalgo for a riveting, highly interactive take on the Mongo Santamaria favorite. It's a bracing send-off that leaves us wanting more. How 'bout it?
- PHILIP BOOTH

(This review originally appeared in Down Beat. The magazine is available online at http://www.downbeatjazz.com)