That jazz is going through something of an about-time-too renaissance in Bermuda was confirmed when a full crowd gathered to hear the new group Jazz Culture at the Ocean Bay Golf Club on Saturday.

This quartet, led by saxophonist Miles Manders, consists of four instrumentalists who have all gained recognition as artists in their own right. They decided to form their own group just four weeks ago and in the six `gigs' since then, Jazz Culture has been producing more than audible sighs of satisfaction.

In a sense, of course, jazz cries out for the intimate setting of small clubs and bars where spontaneity rules the night. But as it has taken its place as the 20th century's most electrifying contribution to the arts, jazz has inevitably also moved into the big concert halls and arenas, producing in the process, rather more cerebral audiences.

Saturday's event fell somewhere between the two, with the audience seated for an evening of what might be termed a dinner concert.

Ocean View provides an ideal setting for this valiant attempt to bring a new slant to Bermuda's ailing night-time entertainment scene. For a modest, all-inclusive charge, the audience was served a buffet-style dinner before settling down to the musical side of things. This curiously hushed prelude could have been loosened up with some taped music to get us in the mood, as it were.

When the Tribute-Nite finally got under way, Miles Manders led off with the familiar strains of Freddie Hubbard's Little Sunflower, before recapturing the inimitable sounds of Charlie Parker in Anthropology. As they swung into Footprints, the final piece in the first set, the strengths of this group were already revealed as each player in turn stamped his own impromptu embroidery on the prevailing motif: exceptional talent from Andrew Morrison on keyboards, Daniel on drums and Clarence Burrows on double bass, with Manders holding it all together on a sax that always sang.

Vocalist June Ventzos, in an apparently last-minute invitation, then joined the band for a set of songs that ranged through the styles of Gershwin, Billie Holliday, Sara Vaughan and the Coles. Plenty of raw talent here, with a powerful, rhythmic voice. Now this young singer needs to concentrate on diction and rely on her voice, rather than a penchant for perpetual motion, to deliver the song.

Eight numbers straight off was quite a feat, especially as she had not rehearsed with the band. A contribution of this length certainly altered the weighting of the show and left some of the audience wondering if Jazz Culture was going to spend the rest of the evening as a back-up group. No doubt these niceties will be ironed out in time but they do need to be dealt with for concert-type appearances that are at least loosely limited in duration.

Then it was back to business, with all four instrumentalists settling into some serious music, with Charlie Parker still up front. One of the memorable moments of this second half was when the bass of Clarence Burrows brought a haunting and brilliant introduction to the melody of Round Midnight.

Up Jumped Spring was reverberating joyfully over the grassy slopes of Prospect as we too jumped up and away -- as always, the beat got better as the hour crept past midnight.

Future jazz events are planned for the second Saturday of each month at Ocean View and when "summer's lease'' takes over, other bands and artists will join this talented group for sessions to be held outside in the starry night. Mark it in your diary now. -- PATRICIA CALNAN.