Mark Turner Quartet at the Village Vanguard Mark Turner Quartet: The ensemble, composed of Avishai Cohen on trumpet, Joe Martin on bass, Mark Turner on saxophone and Marcus Gilmore on drums, performing at the Village Vanguard on Wednesday evening. Leadership in jazz isn't always as clear-cut as it seems. An ensemble discipline, it often involves hierarchies as a matter of course, but the business of directing energy or driving a narrative can be anybody's game. That's worth keeping in mind whenever the conversation turns to the saxophonist Mark Turner, who has been one of the most productive and vital artists of the last dozen years, without releasing his own album in that span. Mr. Turner, 47, has been busy enough: working with bands led by the veteran drummer Billy Hart, the astute young guitarist Gilad Hekselman and others; touring with the SFJazz Collective; doing his part to maintain Fly, a chamberlike and influential trio. You wouldn't call Mr. Turner a subordinate in any of those settings. But by dint of his personality, which runs toward focused introversion and a consuming devotion to craft, he hasn't been too eager to pursue the profile of a frontman. Still, his name has been on the marquee at the Village Vanguard a few times in recent years. And there's reason to take note of the agile quartet he has at the club through Sunday, with the trumpeter Avishai Cohen, the bassist Joe Martin and the drummer Marcus Gilmore. Last week Mr. Turner took these partners into a studio to record an album for ECM. During their first set on Wednesday night, they sounded lean and ready. Of five newish originals, all by Mr. Turner, the loosest and roomiest was the opener, "Sonnet for Stevie," with a serpentine melody that uncoiled in no particular hurry over an earthy, swinging gait. The busiest and most urgent was "The Year of the Rabbit," which packed a lot of tight maneuvers into its episodic form, governed by a 5/4 meter that periodically sprang into double time. Mr. Turner has a dry, dark tone, and he puts just enough weight into it to keep from sounding wispy or unsure. Each of his solos had technical range and fluency, but the best efforts also had a sly contrarianism. He put some swing into his cadence during tunes built on straight rock grooves, like "The Left Hand of Darkness"; he did the opposite, tightening his flow, when the rhythm section was swinging. He's accustomed to working without chordal support, and with this dynamic rhythm team. But he hasn't composed much for a trumpet-and-tenor front line before, and at its best this music conveyed a fresh enthusiasm along with its points of reference (Wayne Shorter, Booker Little, Warne Marsh, Woody Shaw). "The Edenist" featured a braided melody that floated serenely over an increasingly agitated groove; the accord between Mr. Turner and Mr. Cohen was strong. But Mr. Cohen, given room to move, was even stronger. His precise, punchy attack and unpredictable flow of ideas lifted the band during "The Edenist," "The Year of the Rabbit" and a tune provisionally titled "Rock 2," which had the longest stretch of tenor-and-trumpet crosstalk. During those moments Mr. Cohen, who has his own deep experience working with only bass and drums, took charge completely. And Mr. Turner, having been on both sides of the equation, seemed rightly unchallenged. The quartet continues through Sunday at the Village Vanguard, 178 Seventh Avenue South, at 11th Street, West Village; (212) 255-4037, villagevanguard.com.