JAZZ/POP

"It Could Happen to You." Lorne Lofsky, guitar; Kieran Overs, bass; Joe Bendzsa, drums. PABLO TODAY 2312-122 -- Hooray! At last a new name on Pablo, a label that has acquired a reputation for always recording the same people, great as they are (Ella Fitzgerald, Benny Carter, Joe Pass, count Basie, Oscar Peterson, Milt Jackson, etc.). Lofsky's is a brand-new name in jazz, and this album speaks well for him. He's coming right out of the mainstream, with that swinging sound of the Kenny Burrells, the Wes Montgomerys, the Cal Collinses, and so on, and he adds enough of himself to make this a truly interesting first effort. He's chosen a number of standard tunes and jazz standards, like "The Boy Next door," "Body and Soul," "Stolen Moments," and "Giant Steps," and plays them in a straightforward manner, but with some interesting chord voicings. Lofsky, a native Canadian, was discovered by Oscar Peterson, who has produced this album. Unlike so many younger players, Lofsky displays more than technique -- he has a genuine feel for the music, and his solos make sense. My only reservation is that he takes some pretty drastic liberties with the original melodies on a couple of these songs, notably "Giant Steps" and "Stolen Moments." It's one thing to play around the melody or suggest the melody, but to change the notes in the melody so that it becomes another melody is something else again. But, it's a minor gripe -- Lofsky is off to a very promising start.