Nobody swung the bop, or bopped the swing, like Thelonious Monk; and Artemis hit the master’s “Hackensack” both ways Friday at A Place for Jazz. All-stars, in all ways, the sextet drew and thrilled a bigger-than-usual crowd with shrewd song choices, including originals, strong ensemble sections and fearless soloing.

Artemis, from left: Renee Rosnes, Ingid Jenson, Noriko Ueda, Nicole Glover, and Allison Miller

Between its 2020 self-named debut album and last year’s “In Real Time,” leader-pianist Renee (REE-NEE)  Rosnes has solidified Artemis into a stable configuration; stars-on-their-own Cecile McLorin Salvant, Anat Cohen and Melissa Aldana departing and new saxophonist Nicole Glover joining the original nucleus of Rosnes, drummer Allison Miller, trumpeter Ingrid Jensen and bassist Noriko Ueda.

Right: all women, but no big deal. I think it was Robert Christgau who said Pretenders Chrissie Hynde eradicated any consideration of gender in rock excellence; Artemis does this in jazz.

In addition to their intrepid performance elan, they turned in a completely fresh performance Friday by avoiding altogether the tunes on their two albums for both well-chosen classic numbers by jazz masters and new originals.

They were special, from the start. In “Dolphin Dance,” a mellow all-in intro yielded to imaginative remaking of this Herbie Hancock classic. Jensen dipped away from her mic then played close in again for a staccato sonic wah-wah effect before Glover played every note on her tenor, limitless and free. Then Rosnes and Miller played an exciting duet, Miller going double-time, racing ahead, then Rosnes responding by echoing Miller’s riffs, listening and amplifying while Ueda lay a steady pulse under everything.

In Rosnes’s own “Galapagos,” a trio meditation pulsated into a skittering groove, all internal commentary and affirmations in confident horn work as Miller went ferociously melodic in zippy tom-tom runs.

Everybody helped everybody, especially Jensen, who stepped toward the wings at times, when not soloing (as did Glover) or riff-bonding with Glover’s tenor. Always listening, she gave a supportive glance-as-applause when Ueda hit a particularly apt riff in “Galapagos,” for example, and an awed “Woooo!” to Allison’s fireworks in the same tune. Jensen also adjusted her horn and its electronic interfaces often, and it always sounded right.

Performed without intermission, the 90-minute show ranged from solid to sensational, and showed smart pacing. Glover’s pastoral “Petrichor” set a gentle oasis between “Galapagos” and the Bacharach/David pop ballad “What the World Needs Now,” then the bebop adrenalin of “Hackensack,” for example.

In “Petrichor,” Jensen Harmon-muted her trumpet as Glover led the way; and they played a similar blend in “What the World Needs Now” with its thoughtful start and staccato bounce later. Jensen used her hand like a plunger mute in “Hackensack” and when she fell short in a fiery riff, she gave a brief look of dismay before going at it again and nailing it, then repeating several times in triumphant bravado. Rosnes really sparkled in this Monk tune, injecting a kaleidoscope of piano styles into it, including a brisk stride passage and a quote of “Exactly Like You” – and was that the “Salt Peanuts” cadence in Miller’s solo?

Miller also starred in Jensen’s seething hard-bop original “Sights Unseen,” after Jensen herself steered it though tempo shifts, everybody right on the money rhythmically. And Miller took the energy she’d generated in “Sights” straight into her own “Little Cranberry” (about a Maine vacation to the island of that name). Jensen’s muted trumpet took the melody in surprising directions through this summer breeze of a tune, and cued us in applause for Rosnes’s solo. Miller wrapped the tune by playing with her hands and started their last tune the same way: Wayne Shorter’s “Footprints,” a series of conversations with the players pairing and kibitzing fluently. This worked beautifully, as when Glover, whose tenor solo earlier provided a highlight, chimed in as Rosnes and Jensen mused on the melody and brought fresh ideas to bear. 

They came back to encore with a great let-them-down-easy choice: Billy Strayhorn’s “A Flower is a Lovesome Thing” – all breathy and soft-spoken, like a petal in its delicacy; Glover shining here, too.

A Place for Jazz continues Friday, Oct. 18 with pianist Bill O’Connell’s Quartet featuring saxophonist Craig Handy (also bassist and former Schenectady resident Santi DeBriano and drummer eminence Billy Hart) and concludes Nov. 1 with trumpeter Bria Skonberg’s Quintet.

Setlist

Dolphin Dance (Herbie Hancock)

Galapagos (Renee Rosnes)

Petrichor (Nicole Glover))

What the World Needs Now (Is Love, Sweet Love) (Burt Bacharach and Hal David)

Hackensack (Thelonious Monk)

Sights Unseen (Ingrid Jensen)

Little Cranberry (Allison Miller)

Footprints (Wayne Shorter)

A Flower Is a Lovesome Thing (Billy Strayhorn)