"Stablemates" opens Matt Zebley's album Live at Moondog, a 1998 concert recording that captures the alto saxophonist leading a spirited sextet through a program of mostly original compositions. Benny Golson's hard-bop classic serves as an ideal curtain-raiser, its challenging 36-bar ABA form in D-flat major providing a demanding vehicle for the three-horn front line. Zebley takes three choruses of alto saxophone improvisation at 224 beats per minute, his lines navigating the tune's tricky chord changes with confident fluency. Trumpeter Ron Stout follows with three equally commanding choruses, his bright tone and clean articulation bringing a different rhythmic perspective to the same form. Trombonist Alan Ferber rounds out the horn solos with three choruses of his own, his warm sound and melodic approach adding tonal depth to the performance. The live setting at Moondog, a Kansas City venue, lends the recording an energy and spontaneity that distinguishes it from studio sessions. The choice to open with a recognized jazz standard before moving into original material was a shrewd programmatic decision, establishing the band's mainstream jazz credentials while signaling the adventurous spirit that would characterize the rest of the set.
