Sonorous sax and post-bop roar

When saxophonist/composer Bobby Zankel left New York and its avant-garde loft scene for Philadelphia in 1975, he'd already plied his skills with masters of the free-jazz trade such as Cecil Taylor.

Here, Zankel honed his rigorously layered writing/arranging skills; created a smallish big-band called the Warriors of the Wonderful Sound; wrote songs that have been covered by legends like Lester Bowie; and won a Pew Fellowship.

His compositional largesse recalls orchestral jazz greats Gil Evans and Donald Byrd, even Steely Dan's Donald Fagan.

And that's Zankel's greatest achievement.

The ability to make his squealing alto sax sound ever-so-sonorous comes a close second.

Zankel, 59, and his Warriors' dynamic post-bop roar was in full display Thursday at Tritone, its tough, un-fussy bottom provided by a powerhouse rhythm section and a growling baritone sax - a down-and-dirty sound that combined with Elliot Levin's flighty flute toots, and rangy brass and reeds to produce a joyfully chattering discourse.

Constantly recurring melodic fragments, seemingly disparate, came together coolly during the noir, almost cinematic, song "Ndura - The Forest is Our Father and Mother." No roll of Larry Toft's trombone or bolt of Daniel Peterson's alto saxophone - no matter how far-flung - seemed to go too far.

The halo reflected off Bart Miltenberger's trumpet matched its angelic blare - a human scream darting through the likes of "Wise Rejoice."

There was discipline to Zankel's level of free jazz, with solos bracing but never straying too far from the ensemble.

Though the guttural bass of Anthony Tidd and marauding drums of Craig McIver led the snaking reeds of "Spirit Mirror" into a sophisticated brand of R&B, little prepared you for the pixie-ish swing of "Off the Hook." Written by Zankel in tribute to Michael Jackson, it was a sweetly pirouetting cooker, with pianist Tom Lawton providing a "Billie Jean" pulse to the proceeding.

This was innovative orchestrated jazz as nasty as it wanted to be - completely at one with the squeak of a noisy barroom door and the clatter of South Street on a cool summer's night. It was elegant and holy in ways that could make your hair stand on end.