The three musicians who comprise BeatleJazz have a few important things in common. None has limited himself to the jazz mainstream, choosing instead to develop in ways that they find personally satisfying. All have been influenced by music from outside American culture, particularly Latin and Afro-Cuban rhythms. And all three--pianist Dave Kikoski, drummer Brian Melvin, and bassist Charles Fambrough--have become successful musicians in their own right, all thriving in a business that can be difficult to negotiate.

The two BeatleJazz recordings, A Bite of the Apple and Another Bite of the Apple, are successful attempts to use the melodies of the Beatles as jumping-off points for both group exploration and solo improvisation. The arrangements are simple yet elegant, neither slavishly sticking to a song's original concept and feel nor introducing novelty merely for its own sake. Their performances on these discs demonstrate something else as well: the enduring nature of the songs penned by John Lennon, Paul McCartney, and George Harrison, and the beautiful melodic conception of these songwriters in particular. Most of the songs are harmonically straightforward, being popular tunes, but this poses no problem for these inventive musicians. Some songs, like "I'll Follow the Sun" get the jazz-chord substitution treatment while others respond quite nicely to a modal treatment ("Magical Mystery Tour").

Dave Kikoski, the pianist of BeatleJazz, has a strong jazz background, having been taught to play Basie and Ellington right along with Beethoven by his father, a part-time musician. Kikoski studied at Berklee College of Music, playing no only in jazz bands but also in funk and rock groups. After graduating, he spent some time in Boston and Argentina (his wife's native country). Returning to the states, he began playing weddings, bar mitzvahs, and clubs around New Jersey and Long Island. "The groups on those gigs were pretty good, better than on some jazz gigs" he opines, "and shit could be happening even when it was an R&B cover tune at a bar mitzvah." Shortly thereafter Kikoski was working with Roy Haynes and Randy Brecker as well as having an album (Persistent Dreams) produced by Steely Dan's Walter Becker.

Brian Melvin, who conceived the BeatleJazz project, wanted to be a drummer since the moment he saw the Beatles on the Ed Sullivan Show. He got a drum set for Christmas and was off and running. He became interested in the music of the Grateful Dead, a band that featured two drummer/percussionists and helped introduce Melvin to the world of improvisational music. That led him to the Keystone Korner club where he listened closely to every jazz drummer who played, and became friends with many, including Elvin Jones, Art Blakey, Max Roach, Philly Joe Jones, Billy Higgins, and Buddy Rich. He became especially good friends with Rich, a friendship that lasted throughout the remainder of Rich's life. Brian also spent a year and a half with drummer Al Foster as his roommate, a time that he remembers fondly as a major period in his development as a drummer. Brian has also studied with many master percussionists from outside the United States, including Tabla masters Allah Rhaka and Zakir Hussain, African drummer Kwaku Daddy, and Cuban percussionist Armando Peraza. Melvin has also worked with the Grateful Dead's Bob Weir, Greg Allman, and bassist Jaco Pastorius, with whom he toured and recorded extensively. He has also written a book entitled The Tao of Drumming.

Bassist Charles Fambrough has played with a variety of jazz luminaries including McCoy Tyner, Grover Washington, Jr., Art Blakey, Flora Purim, and Airto. He is also well known as a composer, combining jazz, Latin, and Brazilian grooves to create a music that falls outside the usual labels and constrictions of mainstream jazz. As a composer, he's definitely been influenced by the music of Wayne Shorter and Herbie Hancock, because, he says, "serious musicians at some point have to investigate Wayne Shorter and Herbie Hancock." Fambrough also points out that "The musicians that I aspire to, the record company is insignificant to them. Their development, individual growth and viewpoint (is important)." Charles has certainly chosen a wide variety of paths in his development, playing with not only the best jazz musicians, but popular artists such as George Benson and Donny Hathaway as well.

Melvin first worked together with bassist Fambrough and pianist Kikoski back in 1989 when they had a year-long stint as house rhythm section for the after hours jam sessions at the Blue Note nightclub in New York. The idea for BeatleJazz, says Melvin, has been fermenting for quite a while. "I've been fooling around with this concept for a good 15 years. I've been putting on concerts here with my own trio in San Francisco for all that time, sneaking in a new arrangement of a Beatles tune here and there. So this thing has taken shape over time and has finally come to fruition through this trio with David and Charles."

To be honest, I enjoyed the newer disc, Another Bite of the Apple, a bit more than its predecessor, but that was really due more to the tune selection than to the approach. Besides the aforementioned tunes, the album includes a lovely "Here, There, and Everywhere" on which Brian Melvin's brushwork is great and Kikoski uses chord substitutions that emphasize the beauty of the melody rather than the rising nature of the chord progression. "Let It Be" gets a reggae treatment, with Fambrough's bass leading the way both rhythmically and harmonically. He also takes a solo turn that is one of the disc's high points. George Harrison's "Give Me Love" achieves a sort of gospel feeling, while the arrangement of "Michelle" bypasses the corniness of the pseudo-French melody by half-timing the chorus and playing the verse with delicacy, using the chord structure to suggest the melody rather than stating it outright.

Both "Magical Mystery Tour" and "Tomorrow Never Knows" become full-fledged modal workouts, with the latter highlighting some of Brian Melvin's non-traditional percussion skills. The disc passes pleasantly and is over almost before you know it. Fab Four favorites like "Blackbird" are slowed down dramatically, while trippy tunes such as "Blue Jay Way" are unexpectedly speeded up to bebop tempos. The first disc is every bit as pleasant and rewarding an experience, with songs like "Come Together", "Eleanor Rigby", "I Am the Walrus", and "Mother Nature's Son" getting the BeatleJazz treatment.

BeatleJazz could easily have degenerated into a smooth-jazz attempt to cash in on the popularity of the Beatles' music. In the hands of these three able and experienced jazz musicians, it is instead an exploration of these familiar songs that brings unexpected elements to the fore and demonstrates that they are open to an infinite number of interpretations. Roll up, kids. Roll up for the mystery tour.