Formed in 1982, nearly at the same time as Thelonius Monk's passing, Sphere began life as a Monk tribute group, and has since become much more. They stopped playing in 1988 when saxophonist Charlie Rouse passed away, but they're back, now with the amazing Gary Bartz on sax. I had the great pleasure of seeing them live at the Dakota in St. Paul, Minnesota, on November 17th, 1998. It was a hell of a show -- what more can I say? What a tight group of talented, coordinated musicians. It was a short set, a little over an hour, but it was probably the best jazz I've seen lately! Here's some pictures I took at the show, I hope you'll enjoy them. -- Al Iverson Sphere are: ... Kenny Barron -- piano Ben Riley -- drums Gary Bartz -- sax Buster Williams -- bass Pictures Copyright 1998 by Al Iverson. Please contact me for reproduction permission.