JAZZ REVIEW : GRAPPELLI, SULTAN OF SUAVE, RETURNS

A year ago this week Stephane Grappelli graced the Southland with another of his incomparable soirees of suave, swinging sounds in an appearance , at the Beverly Theatre. Wednesday, he was back at the same location, with much the same repertoire, the same adventurously individual guitarist, Marc Fosset, the same dainty meandering medley at the piano (he still plays “Satin Doll”) but, above all, the immutable beauty of his violin, over which he has the easy control that he demonstrated throughout his career.

There is an aspect of Grappelli’s improvisational genius that is seldom discussed, though musicians know about it, and it is central to the uniqueness of everything that happens during a typical performance: He makes almost no use of syncopation, an element often assumed to have been indispensible to jazz throughout its history.

Rather than jump ahead of the beat he will play directly on it, or sway gently across it. Legato is the name of his game, and after playing it for more than a half-century, he has mastered it to the point where it is as natural to him as breathing, or as talking like Maurice Chevalier.

Fosset, his Parisian compatriot, is more complex rhythmically, yet his backing, after five years with the master, is as logical and sympathetic as his solos are inspired and unpredictable. He still does a humming-strumming routine on “I’ll Remember April,” a highlight of last year’s concert.

The bassist this time around was a newcomer, John Burr, from New York. Though his solo work suffered now and then (as did Grappelli’s) from excessive amplification, he is a technical master, for whom “In a Sentimental Mood” and “Blue Monk” were perfect frameworks. The latter, now more than 40 years old, was still the newest work of the evening; others stretch back as far as 1870 (the Grieg “Norwegian Dance”).

When Grappelli picks up his bow, old becomes new and he carries his 78 years as if they were 33. To repeat a remark made after his previous appearance here, he is not merely surviving but thriving.