In town for two nights, Menza's chameleon nature was in full heads-down evidence during the two Opening Night sets I heard.

Often cited as a Sonny Rollins devotee, Menza's mid-range and upward pulled rhythmic figures on Rollins' "No Mo'" were gutsy and involving. On his own Calypso-influenced tune, "Sonny Days", Menza started out unaccompanied, then dueted with LaBarbera whose outpouring of rich saxophone and musical vocabulary typically energized and impressed. Then in reaction, and as a kind of rhythmic coda, Joe LaBarbera ignited in his solo outing and truly nailed his subtle yet insistent drum thing.

This evening was essentially a good time, hard-blowing session — but it's wise to avoid hasty generalizations. For example, you could say Pat LaBarbera's sound is like him, tall and self-contained, while Menza's is sturdy and barrel-chested — but how would you account for the second set where Menza's circular breathing frequently pushed his solos into continuous 'avant garde' streams of sound, while LaBarbera (on "Sonny Days", "You Stepped Out of A Dream", and "No Mo'") was adroitly quoting, angular, and dare I say 'Rollins-ish' in his solo references?