NEW YORK -- Trombonist, composer and arranger Slide Hampton is a jazz ambassador. He wants to bring more people to the music.

His Trombone All-Stars, which opened last night and runs through Sunday at the Village Vanguard, fits his agenda. Typical of the 75-year-old East Orange resident, a recipient of a National Endowment for the Arts Jazz Master Fellowship, the band is absolutely first-rate on all fronts.

To begin with, the group salutes the trombone with five excellent practitioners: Hampton, Steve Davis, Michael Dease and Jonathan Voltzok on tenor trombone, and Max Seigel on bass trombone. Each has a warm, individual sound and is a storytelling soloist.

Then there's the ace rhythm team of pianist Michael Weiss, bassist Dwayne Burno and drummer Gregory Hutcherson who supported the frontline empathetically. Each soloed with acumen and feeling.

And there's the music, almost all arranged by Hampton, who keeps a theme's core intact while enhancing it with intriguing orchestrations.

Hampton opened with Miles Davis' late 1950s modal piece, "Milestones," taken at a fairly brisk pace. With trombones only at the start, the band's wondrous ensemble sound was heard, a glorious, glowing mass of tones unique to five trombones offering unison and orchestrated passages. With rhythm added, the first section had bitten-off notes landing right on the beat; in contrast, the bridge swayed.

Working in turn, the soloists -- each technically adroit and influenced, to some degree, by the bop master J.J. Johnson -- proved their individuality. Because the trombone can only be played so fast, the improvisers' lines had a welcome clarity: you could hear each note.

Hampton revealed his sweet tone on succinct, punchy thoughts and swerving lines that maintained a rhythmic charge. Davis' sound was a bit softer, and he issued numerous complex lines packed with bebop language.

Seigel, on bass bone, was stunning in his ability to craft song-like statements in his instrument's low range, often hitting commanding, gravelly tones. Voltzok's sound was much brighter in contrast, and he ran from fast scoots to weighty notes. Dease had also had a rich, vibrant tone, and scored with fluid lines with rhythmic pop.

"We can't go much further without playing some blues," said Hampton in introducing "Blue Monk." Weiss played the theme first, with such deft Monk-isms as descending asides after thematic statements, and voicings a la the master. The number was highlighted by several written ensemble passages, including one with bits of Charlie Parker's famed "Parker's Mood."

Joe Henderson's classic bossa "Recorda-Me," employed Seigel and Burno to deliver the opening bass line, then came the tuneful theme from the others. The soloists were buoyed by Burno's fat notes and Hutcherson's quiet percussion churnings, and Weiss' smartly-placed comping. Here, Hampton was superlative, delivering one meaty idea, then another.

Johnson's evergreen ballad "Lament" found each trombonist playing a section of the theme, with engaging tonal shifts as a result.

Juan Tizol's jouncy "Caravan" concluded with enticing four-bar, then two-bar exchanges from the horns. Davis' "Choices" had a solid, modern ring.

Zan Stewart is the Star-Ledger's jazz writer. He is also a musician who occasionally performs at local clubs. He may be reached at zstewart@starledger.com or at (973) 324-9930.