Belgrave, Gabriel Will Introduce CD at Bert's

They can channel the spirit of early New Orleans, bebop down 52nd Street or strut with a distinctly bluesy stride. On Sunday afternoon, the two artists, with versatile singer Joan Belgrave along for the ride, will celebrate the release of their latest recording, “Once Again."

The album honors some of Marcus Belgrave's mentors, among them the honey-toned, fleet-fingered trumpeter Clifford Brown; Belgrave's cousin, the bebop baritone saxophonist Cecil Payne; and saxophonist Hank Crawford, who, like the trumpeter, cut his teeth on the road with Ray Charles. At 72, Belgrave is still playing with grand authority, producing a golden tone and lyric bursts of spidery ideas that coalesce in gorgeous paragraphs of melody. Gabriel, too, is a source of endless vitality.

Joining the three featured performers will be trombonist Chris Smith, pianists Bill Meyer and Tad Weed, bassists Marion Hayden and Jeff Halsey and drummer Sean Dobbins. There also will be a book signing for author Larry Gabriel's “Daddy Plays Old-Time New Orleans Jazz."

4 p.m. Sunday, Bert's Entertainment Complex, 2727 Russell St., Detroit. 313-567-2030. cqmswww.bertsentertainment.com. $25 (includes music, refreshments, autographed copy of the new CD).