Jazz Reviews : Sheppard, Obiedo Share Bill

Bob Sheppard, who shared the bill Tuesday night at At My Place with Ray Obiedo, is the kind of solid, dependable player who--50 years ago--might have held the hot tenor chair in a big swing band.

His soloing on pieces from his new Windham Hill album was articulate and to the point; his compositions were solidly within the contemporary mainstream.

What was missing was a sense of uniqueness--a spark of invention, both in his improvising and his pieces, that might have energized and highlighted Sheppard’s role as a leader.

Guitarist Obiedo’s set took a dramatic about-face. Working with a group of regulars, the veteran of the Bay Area Latin funk scene presented a well-integrated program bristling with rhythmic high voltage.

At the heart of the band, powering everything with a percussive mix as explosive as it was musically precise, was drummer Hilary Jones--a talent with impressive star potential. Obiedo’s rare solos, most notably on the opening “Boomerang,” found a steady balance between substance and emotion.