JAZZ REVIEW : DANIELS TAKES CLARINET TO NEW LEVEL

By now it is an open secret that Eddie Daniels, who decided not long ago to concentrate his improvising skills on the clarinet after years as a respected saxophonist, is instigating a revolution.

Sunday evening, after a turn-away classical and jazz concert Saturday at Cal State Long Beach, Daniels arrived in Sherman Oaks for a one-night stand at Le Cafe that will not soon be forgotten, particularly by the many musicians in attendance. “My lip is sore just from listening,” said one incredulous jazzman in the packed room.

Daniels, whose clarinet album “Breakthrough” last year attracted widespread attention, is not merely a technical wizard. He seldom lets his mastery of the horn carry him away; his idea-charged mind enables him to change directions, shift rhythmic patterns and weave convoluted melodic strands that transcend the flurries of 8th or 16th notes of which too many technically endowed soloists are guilty.

No less remarkable than his constant creative flow is the tonal quality of his horn, which stays mellow even in the upper register where some clarinetists tend to become thin and shrill.

Daniels has met his match in the phenomenal John Patitucci, a bassist of such power that his solos evoked near-disbelief. As a partner for Daniels he played the entire intricate bebop line of “Donna Lee” in unison with him at a tempo that had the audience gasping. Again, though, it was not a mere matter of speed per se; Patitucci is a supportive and sensitive rhythm section player at any tempo, from the relaxed “Star Eyes” to the Latin beat of “Wave” or the calypso groove of “St. Thomas.”

Two other fine local musicians rounded out the group: Billy Mintz on drums and Tom Ranier, the pianist who specializes in dreaming up wild ad-lib patterns in parallel two-hand unison.

It is a rare event in jazz when one man can all but reinvent an instrument, bringing it to a new stage of its evolution. Daniels, by taking this bold step with a horn that fell out of favor after the swing era, would seem today to have the whole world in his two extraordinary hands.