Mark Whitfield, Patrice (Warner Brothers Records)

Mark Whitfield’s second release is somewhat more varied than his debut recording, The Marksman. Backed by an all-star rhythm section—Kenny Barron on piano, Ron Carter on bass and Jack DeJohnette on drums—Whitfield has an ideal group to engage in hard-blowing improvisation. Whitfield is out of the George Benson/Grant Green tradition of jazz guitar playing. On his composition “Baby M’s Bayou Blues,” he indulges in some tasty slide guitar. On the standard “Midnight Sun,” he performs solo in a manner that would make Joe Pass proud. The title cut features Whitfield’s guitar alongside a vocal group.

My particular favorite moment on this album is the original “Trouble at the South Bend.” Whitfield engages in some serious modal playing that reminds one of early George Benson. Another bonus that this recording offers is the appearance of the respected (and under-recorded) clarinetist Alvin Batiste on “South Bend” and Whitfield’s arrangement of “Nobody Knows the Trouble I’ve Seen.”