JAZZ REVIEWS : SAXOPHONIST REDD NEEDS A BAND AID

Vi Redd, the alto saxophonist and singer who has long been part of the Southland scene, showed up Saturday at Marla’s Memory Lane.

There was an almost interminable wait before she finally occupied the bandstand. Preceding her were close to a half hour of fortissimo jokes by the house comic, Reynaldo Rey, and an overlong, inept introductory set by Redd’s four musicians.

Finally at 11 p.m., unrehearsed and without even a sound check, Redd began uncertainly. Her tendency to play sharp was particularly conspicuous during the first couple of numbers. But her funky treatment of “Wave” exemplified her ability to impart a blues feeling to the unlikeliest of vehicles.

Redd generally improvises around the melodies instead of playing freely on the chord patterns of her songs. This worked well on “Misty” and particularly on “Lover Man.”

Her accompanists, in diminishing order of competence, were Mark Cargill, an interesting violinist, though something of a fifth wheel in this setting; James Polk on keyboards; Randy Goldberg (her son) on drums, and a bass player named Harvey Estrada who, incredibly, did not even seem to know “ ‘Round Midnight.” He spent part of the time simply laying out and the rest apparently trying to read his part. Surely, Redd can do better than this in putting a group together.

Some of the best moments were her vocals. Though battling a cold, she applied her husky, compelling tones to “If I Should Lose You” and “Wee Baby Blues” effectively enough to suggest that more of her time should be allotted to singing.