The marriage of hip-hop and jazz is no longer news, as it was in 1993 when producer Geoff Wilkinson was handed the keys to Blue Note Records' jazz archives to make Us3's promising debut. Blending soulful hip-hop with some of jazz history's finest riffs, the album became a crossover hit.

\par \par Fast forward to post-trip-hop 1997 -- a few giant steps into the age of DJ as cultural icon. Jazz also has been revitalized by young lions like Joshua Redman and Charlie Hunter. After a three-year absence from U.S. stages, Wilkinson brought his new lineup into a brave new world Tuesday night to promote its long-awaited sophomore release, "Broadway & 52nd."

\par \par Without one of its rappers (Shabaam Sahdeeq, who was sidelined due to an ear infection) the group managed to work through only nine songs before exiting the stage. And although Us3 proved their borrowed material could be reproduced live without piped-in Blue Note samples, the jazz-and-hip-hop hybrid that defines the act seemed like an unwelcome weight.

\par \par "True to the Game," was built on Tim Vine's electric piano, that live and on album borrows heavily from Chick Corea and Joe Zawinul's work on Miles Davis' seminal "Bitches Brew. "Snakes," a snappy tune that rides a standup bass and sinewy soprano sax on the album and should have been a highlight of the show, was dispatched too quickly, underscoring one of the shortcomings of Us3's equation: while innovative jazz musicians are largely bored with 4/4 time, rappers are afraid to step out from behind straight-up beats. The album version of this song slinks and bobs, but live it just fell flat.

\par \par The band finally found a spark revisiting its signature "Cantaloop (Flip Fantasia)," but then walked offstage for a break, leaving the crowd to cool off just as things were finally heating up. It was an awkward intermission, and it kept the show from really getting off the ground.

\par \par Returning to the stage one by one, the musicians carefully picked their way through an extended instrumental rendition of "Tukka Yoot's Riddim," passing solos all the way through the band and never getting to the vocals. It was easily the standout performance of the night, and it was probably no coincidence that the players were free to come and go without regard for where the raps might come in.

\par \par Rapper KCB rejoined the band for the final tune of the evening, the new single "Come On Everybody (Get Down)," but it was weakened by the absence of the sampled vocal hooks that give legs to the recorded version. And after less tha