As with many professions, it was a difficult thing to be a jazz musician during the pandemic year of 2020, but alto saxophonist Jim Snidero found himself in a unique situation: he was able to assemble a quartet for a feasible, safe, limited-audience gig at Pennsylvania's famed Deer Head Inn.

Snidero and his colleagues relished the chance to commune with listeners, and one another, on the bandstand again at long last. 'Live at the Deer Head Inn' is the result, and as Snidero remarks in the liner notes, "It just felt like the perfect opportunity to cut through the fog of this damn pandemic and mark this moment in time."

The energy and excitement are palpable on this, as Snidero rallies his players and the audience in an exuberant set of what he calls "comfort music," beginning with a trenchant take on Charlie Parker's "Now's the Time" (with Bird's daughter, Kim Parker, in attendance to hear it). The depth of swing and interplay is evident in every measure, and Snidero's sound and phrasing reveal a disposition of his own, guided by a unique melodic and harmonic concept - qualities that have earned him recognition in the Downbeat and JazzTimes Critics Polls.

Personnel: Jim Snidero (alto saxophone), Orrin Evans (piano), Peter Washington, bass), Joe Farnsworth (drums)