Media Credit: miguelzenon.com Zenon and his quartet performed five songs totaling 90 minutes for the audience at Bowker Auditorium on Thursday night. Smooth jazz was united with rhythmic salsa as Miguel Zen n took the stage at Bowker Auditorium on Thursday night. His Oct. 18 concert was the last of four performances in association with the Fine Arts Center’s Center Series 2007-2008. The musical medley, premiering Zen n on alto sax, drew inspiration from bebop and Latin jazz.

Accompanying Zen n onstage was Luis Perdomo (piano), Matt Penman (bass), and Jeff Ballard (drums). Within the quartet, each musician’s personal style was complemented by the others’ playing. The balance between exhilarating improvisations and percussive accompaniments created a smooth and harmonious sound. Zen n and his quartet prepared a five-song set which lasted approximately 90 minutes. From start to finish, each song intermittently ranged from slow and somber to upbeat and energetic.

While the songs might have sounded confusingly similar to an untrained ear, the jazz-friendly audience responded with a standing ovation. The show was opened with “Villar n”, the seventh track from Zen n’s most recent album. Improvising a crowd-pleasing solo, Zen n cut through the silence in the auditorium with the rich timber of his alto sax. The spotlight then expanded to include Perdomo, Penman, and Ballard providing the harmony for Zen n’s complicated melody.

In time, each member of the quartet got his chance to solo and was met with resounding approval from the lively audience. It was interesting to hear how different each instrument sounded when isolated from the others. Solos on the saxophone, piano, and drums generated a reverberating sensation through the crowd. However, when the bass took the lead, its deep pitch was somewhat less invigorating.