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Gradually, the Douglas Beach House (aka the Bach Dancing & Dynamite Society) filled with people coming in for a jazz laden treat on that Sunday afternoon of August 7, 2011. On the lineup were Bob Sheppard on tenor sax, flute, and soprano saxophones; Larry Koonse on guitar; Jeff D'Angelo on stand-up bass; and Mark Ferber playing drums.

From the chatter before the show, many had heard Bob play as a sideman with such luminaries as Billy Childs, Herbie Hancock, Chick Corea, Stevie Wonder, and others, but very few had heard him as the leader of his band. For this event, Sheppard included some of the tunes from his newest album, "Close Your Eyes."

It took the quartet well into the second tune, Sheppard's "Surface Tension," (from the concert's featured album) to sync with each other. The moment when that happened, Sheppard was blowing hard on his sax and that pulled the rest of his team together so that they fit together with him as though tiles in a mosaic.

With that, the whole afternoon took on a fresh flavor. Koonse was featured in a part of this tune. It was then that it became clear that although Koonse looks fully relaxed while playing he has a sense of certainty about what he does on his guitar. Ferber on the drums held back in that he did not come through as a dominant player and yet given his finesse on his trap set, he was always there keeping the time in the background.

"Surface Tension" also set the tone for the sharp, exacting endings that Sheppard commands. A solid ending to a piece can make it or break it.

For most of the first set, bassist D'Angelo remained too far into the background. On his solos and when he was featured, he could have pushed his bass to the forefront and as well he could have let go far more than he did. It was with "Phantoms" (Kenny Barron), the fifth tune of the first set, that D'Angelo came out on his own, and he was up to the task. He opened the piece with a well-developed solo with variations in texture that he had not executed on any of the previous numbers.

"Charcoal Blues" (Wayne Shorter) featured Sheppard on soprano sax. It was a more upbeat number than any of the previous ones and that set forth a sense of excitement; a nice change-up. Koonse's guitar held down the melody until Sheppard smoothly slipped in and took over the piece. Koonse stepped back to give Sheppard room to mold "Charcoal Blues" into a fine number. Ferber's drums took over with a solo. He came on strong, punctuating the piece here and there with riffs that clearly showed his unique sensitivity. He kept that going throughout the number and at the same time he was able to give the rest of the musicians enough room to come through as well.

Throughout the concert was a give-and-take exchange between Koonse and Sheppard. Obviously, these two had often played together and knew exactly what each was going to do even before it was executed. And yet, by the end of the first set, it felt like too many of the numbers had the same signature, a very similar feel. This was crushed in the second set, which took on a fresh vibrancy that brought each and every one of the numbers in that set to life.

In the album's title number, "Close Your Eyes" (written by Bernice Petkere, arranged by Sheppard) that led off the second set, Sheppard pushed his tenor sax far beyond anything he did in the first set. This firmly established the overall tone for all of the remaining numbers in that set. He used much more of a range, taking the sax far out on the high notes which brought out a clear feel to the piece. Koonse lay in with him and came through with a quick, direct featured role on this tune. It was easy to see that these two musicians not only loved playing together but they also respected each other's abilities.

The evening closed with Sheppard's "Bait & Switch," undoubtedly the hottest number of both sets. It allowed each member of the quartet to come through. D'Angelo emerged with a strong run on his bass while Koonse knocked it out on his guitar, pushing the tempo further and further out. In parts Sheppard used the full range of his tenor sax as it took it out. Ferber's drum solo punctuated the piece with finesse. With this tune, Sheppard escaped the confines of the previous numbers and showed the audience what he and his quartet were all about.

As the number finished, the audience rose with a hearty applause, and it was well deserved.