COLLETTE, VIOLA GROUP AT DONTE’S

Bassist Allen Jackson and drummer Sherman Ferguson are keeping good company Thursday nights at Donte’s. For more than a month now, the young duo has been providing support to saxophonist Buddy Collette and guitarist Al Viola, a pair of jazz veterans (combined age: 130), whose impressive credits include everything from recorded jazz classics to studio gigs neither would probably care to remember.

Though Collette and Viola have been a musical item for about 30 years now, their music, as heard Thursday at the North Hollywood jazz club, shows little sign of age. Unless, of course, one finds gentle, melodic jazz that swings to be something from a bygone era.

Collette, who doubles on flute and clarinet, started the first set with a graceful flute solo that called for the rest of the quartet to join in on an easily swinging “Autumn Leaves.” Though the tune ranks with “Satin Doll” as being among the most overplayed of the jazz repertoire, the group made solid musical sense of it, with Viola providing his understated chordal work and precision melodies with extraordinary style.

But the scenario gave way to the new with the quartet plunging straight ahead into a funky Collette composition, “Vida,” followed by a Latin-flavored treat by Viola, “Jazz Bossa.” The haunting melody of the former and the rhythmic urgency of the latter showed modern sides of two jazzmen whose belief in melody and swing remains undaunted.

“My Buddy” offered a return to the standard repertoire with Viola stating the melody in a single-note style. In contrast, his solo rendition of “Body and Soul” was heavy with chordal strumming that recalled the spirit of Wes Montgomery.

Collette, a sensitive player with unerring intonation and musicality, was at his best on the up-tempo “A Taste of Fresh Air.” Indeed this group, with Ferguson and Jackson providing admirably solid support and tasty solos, is a taste of fresh air.