JAZZ REVIEW : 2 VIRTUOSOS AT CATALINA’S

The guitarists George Van Eps and Tony Rizzi have been gigging from time to time as a duo at local clubs in recent years. Thursday they brought their special brand of empathy to Catalina’s Bar and Grill in Hollywood.

The gaunt, fleet-fingered Van Eps was a virtual founding father of jazz guitar. The amplified, seven-stringed instrument he uses is an updated version of the model he used in the pre-electric era. Rizzi, white-bearded but younger, is a veteran of countless studio jobs. The two virtuosos work today simply for pleasure, as you can tell by the knowing smiles they exchanged during a particularly deft passage of interplay.

Nothing is prepared. Rizzi will ease into a standard song; Van Eps will start chording a gentle background. After two or three choruses, Van Eps will put his full, rich sound and harmonic imagination to work as he backs up Rizzi’s supple ad-libbing.

When Van Eps takes over the solo role, Rizzi is less inclined to support him, apparently preferring simply to sit and enjoy his partner’s inspiration.

It’s low-key, dinner-music jazz; the tempos are moderate to very slow. In fact, “I Can’t Get Started” almost didn’t. But “Embraceable You” introduced by Van Eps with a passage from “Rhapsody in Blue,” settled into a comfortable groove. As the two mature craftsmen applied their contrapuntal magic to “All the Things You Are,” with enough double-time effects to sustain the momentum, the set ended on a shimmering note of triumph.