When I caught up with vibraphonist Joe Locke by phone at his New York home, he had just finished a wildly successful week-long engagement at Dizzy's Club Coca-Cola, celebrating the legacy of Henry Mancini. The club, a component of Jazz at Lincoln Center, was filled to capacity every night.

Locke was getting ready to travel to Paris the next day to be special guest at a 10th anniversary Moutin Reunion Quartet concert. Then he was off to Lincoln, Nebraska, for his first concert soloing with a Symphony Orchestra. In mid-June he embarks on a European tour, and in July he shares the bill with Ornette Coleman at JazzBaltica in Germany.

But, in the middle of this whirlwind of activity, Locke will visit his hometown with his brand new quartet, Force of Four, for two Kilbourn Hall concerts at the Rochester International Jazz Festival.

Locke himself is a whirlwind of activity when he takes off on a solo. His four mallets seem to fly crazily over the bars, yet somehow they always manage to land on just the right notes.

At the age of 49, his dazzling technique and distinctive approach to the instrument have made him one of the world's top vibraphonists. It's been a long journey for Locke, who started his career playing at Jenks & Jones on Genesee Street when he was 15.

When I first encountered him, playing small Rochester clubs in the mid-1970's, he was a long-haired, punky high school kid playing with Eastman School musicians. He was already a monster on the vibes.

"I was bitten by the bug of wanting to play improvised music, and really falling in love with the music, and then associating myself with older musicians who were going to school me in the ways of this music," he says.

Among those musicians were John and Danny Vitale, Vinnie Ruggierio, Bobby Blandino, and Steve Davis.

"I was learning the ropes and living the life of someone older than myself," say Locke.

Locke grew up in on Rochester's Park Avenue in an intellectual household. His father, Fredric Locke, was a classicist at the University of Rochester, teaching ancient Latin and Greek literature. His mother, an executive secretary, had graduated from Columbia University, majoring in French.

At first he had typical teenage taste, listening to The Band, Led Zeppelin, and Jimi Hendrix. But when he visited his sister's apartment he heard different music: Thelonious Monk and Herbie Mann.

By then he was playing drums and piano. When his mother saw an ad in the newspaper she put two and two together and changed his life. The ad was for a vibraphone.

"She knew it was a percussion instrument and a keyboard instrument. She knew I enjoyed playing piano and drums, and she bought me this instrument for $200."

Of course, Locke did not immediately respond.

"I was 12. I let it sit in my bedroom for a year and get piled with clothing and books. When I was 13 I took all the dirty clothes off the vibes and started playing them and never stopped."

After playing local clubs his reputation grew so strong that a week after he graduated from East High School he got a call to go on the road with saxophonist Spider Martin. At 21 he was on his way to New York City with a couple hundred dollars in his pocket.

It was not easy at first - you can't just walk up on stage with your vibraphone and join a jam session. But as his reputation grew, his career began to take off. And he began to meet some of his heroes.

He's become good friends with vibraphone great Bobby Hutcherson, and recently played a duo concert with him in Germany. He also got to know Milt Jackson before his death, and has done tours exploring his legacy with the members of Jackson's quartet.

In recent years he has started producing other artists, most notably singer Dianne Reeves. His arrangement of Joni Mitchell's "River," on which he also plays, is among the most gorgeous tracks of Reeves' career.

Locke has a knack for selecting tunes.

"Certain songs sound beautiful on the vibraphone. We've been doing ‘Moon River' and ballads like ‘My Ship.' Sometimes I'll play a tune that's new for me and it sounds like it was made for my instrument," he says.

No matter what he plays, Locke imbues it with an air of mystery. "I like a dark sound, I always like a certain amount of intrigue in my lines."

As for his incredible technique, aside from a tremendous amount of practice, Locke points to a story from a book by Alan Watts.

"There's a heron standing in front of a pool waiting to catch a fish. The heron becomes the pool itself. That's a good analogy for improvisation; that you're in the state of readiness. You're in the moment and then you become the moment," Locke says.

If his forthcoming album is any indication, Force of Four is the most exciting ensemble Locke has led to date. The rhythm section of Robert Rodriguez on piano, Ricardo Rodriguez (no relation) on bass, and Jonathan Blake on drums propels every tune with complex rhythmic undercurrents.

"These are young players who are really on the cutting edge of what's happening in music right now," says Locke. "They're teaching me a lot. Contemporary Latin music, different meters, time signatures... I'm stretching myself, pushing past my comfort zone and keeping fresh musical ideas happening.

"It was an honor to work with Milt's rhythm section, and the Mancini project is wonderful," he continues. "But Force of Four is taking me back to doing my own stuff. It's my identity - where I'm at now."

Kilbourn Hall is bound to be full of people who were there at the beginning, watching Locke as he took off. But none of them will be more amazed than he is at how far he's flown.

"When I look at my career now - I'm doing things that were beyond my wildest dreams," he says. 

Joe Locke "Force of Four"

Kilbourn Hall, 26 Gibbs St.

Thursday, June 19

6 & 10 p.m. | $25, or Club Pass | 232-1900, rochesterjazz.com