JAZZ REVIEW : RICHIE COLE QUARTET AT MARINELAND

For the second of its series of weekend jazz celebrations, Marineland presented, on its outdoor Sky Tower Stage, the quartet of Richie Cole.

For years the saxophonist has used the slogan “Alto Madness” as an indication of the free-wheeling, sometimes satirical nature of his performances. On this occasion, however, the group’s behavior was no more insane than the nearby killer whales seemed lethal.

After making it clear that he would just be playing “some basic jazz,” Cole moved smoothly from Charlie Parker’s “Confirmation” to a theme from a Disney movie, “When You Wish Upon a Star.” Despite occasionally excessive embroidery, he retained the third-generation-bebop essence that has long marked his style (Parker and then Phil Woods were his direct antecedents).

Switching from Disneyland to Marineland, Cole tried Earle Hagen’s “Fishing Hole,” which turned out to be an apt vehicle for workouts by Mr. Ubiquity of the piano, Ross Tompkins, and the bassist Marshall Hawkins.

Tompkins took over for a typically incisive and swing-rooted solo number, backed by Hawkins and the discreet drumming of Billy Mintz. For a finale Cole brought on his special guest in the person of a second alto saxophonist, Yolanda Nickell, a.k.a. Mrs. Alto Madness.

The husband-and-wife duo also merged engagingly on a blues, “Red Top.” Though not matching him for speed, Nickell gave Cole an impressive run for his money. She has a natural rhythmic sense, capable technique and a commendable reservoir of ideas.

The Cole group closed Sunday, but Marineland has another musical offering, on display daily at the Cliffside Theater: the short movie “Ocean in Jazz,” a beautiful series of marine life stills, produced by Leonard Aube, very well coordinated rhythmically with a sound track to which Mark Isham, William Ackerman, Dave Grusin, Lee Ritenour and others contributed.