Terrace Martin

“Velvet Portraits”

(Sounds of Crenshaw/Ropeadope)

Terrace Martin is a maestro of the margins, the sort of musician who’s often at his most effective just on the edges of the frame. A jazz-trained alto saxophonist with a lissome, sweet-tart sound, he’s also a producer and rapper whose roots stretch deep into the West Coast hip-hop scene — the guest list on his 2013 full-length debut, “3ChordFold” (AKAI/Empire), included Snoop Dogg, Kendrick Lamar, Ty Dolla Sign, James Fauntleroy and Ab-Soul.

Mr. Martin’s smoothly sprawling new album, “Velvet Portraits,” is also crowded with collaborators, but none of the above, despite the fresh sizzle of Mr. Martin’s work with Mr. Lamar. It’s as if the agenda were to reclaim a little breathing room, and remind the world of Mr. Martin’s other regions of interest.

So “Velvet Portraits,” the first release on his Sounds of Crenshaw label, unfolds as a tasting menu of Los Angeles soul-jazz, G-funk and quiet-storm R&B. With rare exceptions — like “Valdez Off Crenshaw,” which could honestly be the work of a smooth-jazz veteran like Najee — Mr. Martin limits his saxophone playing, hanging back and choosing his spots. And even then, he often cedes the brighter spotlight to a peer, like the tenor saxophonist Kamasi Washington (“Think of You”) or the trumpeter Keyon Harrold (“Tribe Called West”).

The result of this self-editing is that greater emphasis falls on Mr. Martin’s choices as a producer-bandleader. He made most of “Velvet Portraits” with a stable core of musicians, including his father, the seasoned drummer Curly Martin. This crew is equally at ease playing gluey, smoldering R&B (“Oakland,” a perfect vehicle for the vocalist Lalah Hathaway); crisp, Curtis Mayfield-esque funk (“Push,” with a more excitable singer, Tone Trezure); and slow-drag gospel-soul (“Patiently Waiting,” which has the Emotions singing backup for Uncle Chucc).