Pinoy guitarist and composer Johnny Alegre has already made a name for himself in the world of Jazz.

Yet far from resting on his laurels, he pushed to up the ante most superbly with his latest CD, “Johnny Alegre 3.” 

 Released under MCA Music, “Johnny Alegre 3” showcases the “best working Jazz guitarist in the country” in his most eclectic, even as he attempts to prove his mettle playing alongside two Jazz greats, bassist Ron Mclure and drummer Billy Hart.

 Mclure and Hart, venerable US Jazz legends that they are, shares an impressive resume between themselves having shared stage and studio time with other Jazz greats. These include Buddy Rich, Wes Montgomery, Joe Henderson, Thelonious Monk, Joe Zawinul, Wayne Shorter, Miles Davis and Herbie Hancock – definitely a list not to be sniffed at and no doubt, one in which Alegre rises to the occasion.

 “Johnny Alegre 3” opens with the melodic “Wildflower,” which the guitarist punctuates with lounge-y fat, clean guitar tones. Notable is that nice moody shift right after Ron Mclure’s bass solo in which Alegre inventively combines single note stabs with some neat guitar tricks (e.g. volume swells) to drive the tune home.

Nothing exceptional by these player’s standards, but it does provide good warm-up—sort of an appetizer for greater things to come.

The opening strains of “Offering,” is reminiscent of John Coltrane’s “My Favorite Things,” which probably serves as a nod of sorts to one of the genre’s most illustrious instrumentalist.

 Jazz, of course, is mostly about improvisation, and coming up with a familiar melody within the course of a new tune is traditional; it’s the way that melody gets spun on its head that’s critical – and the trio definitely weaves something new while going on a different harmonic tangent giving “Offering” a character solely its own.  

 In “Barnabas,” the trio shifts gears and turns on the heat. Leaving behind the softer, Wes Montgomery/Joe Pass-style that he uses in the earlier tracks, Alegre digs deep into his bag of tricks for tones and riffs that harkens to the sound of fused rock and jazz ala-Jeff Beck and John McLaughlin. 

All throughout, the guitarist alternates between mellow to searing and Mclure and Hart, legends that they are, casts and reels Alegre masterfully. They do much of the same on the riff-laden track “Conundrum” in which Alegre dumps his clean, reverb-laden tone, for a more cutting and distorted guitar tone.

This album is as much about the bassist and the drummer as it is about the guitarist. And as such, Jazz aficionados get much of Mclure and Hart as of Alegre in tunes like “Up 101,” and “Ant/Man.”

 If you’re after a show of chops from the two, the album has lots although these legends didn’t go out of their way to prove themselves. After all, they’re there to support Alegre--which they did so excellently--allowing his songwriting and compositional skills to shine.

 Among the finer examples of Alegre’s marked progress as songwriter are “From Long Ago,” and “Theme From Humanfolk.”

 This all-instrumental jazz album is a most enjoyable outing specifically for guitar players aching to learn a thing or two about melodic lead and rhythm guitar.

Alegre no doubt, has, once again, delivered the goods.