Winter Jazzfest: Nine-Man Band Fleshes Out a One-Man Show The trombonist and composer-arranger Jacob Garchik released one of the odder (and better) jazz recordings of last year: "The Heavens: The Atheist Gospel Trombone Album." The ethical/religious connotations of the album are probably best left to another forum; what's germane here is the fact that the Heavens, on record, is a one-man show, a product of shrewd overdubbing and self-sufficient conviction. At Bowery Electric on Friday night, as part of Winter Jazzfest, Mr. Garchik fleshed out the music with a sympathetic crew: a handful of additional trombonists, along with Joe Daley on sousaphone and Kenny Wollesen on drums. He has done this a few times before -- Ben Ratliff reviewed the group's first performance, suggesting that there was great promise but room for growth -- and I was curious to hear how far it has come. Far enough, is my snap judgment. Early in this set, Mr. Garchik took full advantage of his cohort, barking like the M.C. at a soul revue, with response punctuation from the horns: "We are the Atheist!" Bop! Trombone! Womp! Gospel! Bap! Choir! Wap! He followed this by crediting "my helpers, my minions, my acolytes." He then made a point of noting that not everyone in the group is actually an atheist. The interactions of nine musicians are necessarily looser than the cloistered actions of a single godlike creator (sorry, Jacob), and yet the ensemble brought these themes vividly to life: "Optimism" was a fizzy rollick, and "Digression on the History of Jews and Black Music" brimmed with rhythmic brio. Among the Trombone soloists, Josh Roseman did an especially fine job of evoking this music's gospel origins. But everyone on the bandstand sounded right for the gig.