Jazz Reviews : Benny Carter Plays With a Youthful Spirit

Octogenarian Benny Carter may not be young , but he acts young and thinks young, and that makes all the difference.

Filling in Saturday for the previously scheduled Stan Getz (who is still convalescing from surgery late last year) at Marsee Auditorium, Carter revealed the perennially youthful flexibility of his musical attitude, bringing along a quintet that mixed swing, be-bop and post-bop styles into an invigorating, urbane whole.

And while Carter’s style really hasn’t changed in years, he still plays with an enthusiasm and spirit that’s infectious. On tunes like “Green Dolphin Street” and “What Is This Thing Called Love,” the alto saxophonist offered ideas that exhibited a fluid line quality and a “yah-ta-tut-ta-tut” corniness, occasionally dropping in zipping arpeggios, as if he were bolting up a flight of stairs two at a time.

When Carter played the ballads “Evening Star” and “Misty,” he reached his zenith. Here his rich, vibrant sound spilled forth glowingly and his statements, tied perfectly one to the next, were gems.

Trumpeter Oscar Brashear’s modernism was a delightful contrast to the leader’s swing era feel. Working with a brilliant sound and a commanding concept that shows the influence of such greats as Clifford Brown and John Coltrane, Brashear was both powerful, playing stinging, cascading ideas, and delicate, as on “Easy Money,” where his lines danced lightly. His feature on Coltrane’s version of “Body and Soul,” complete with an unaccompanied closing chorus, was a tour de force.

Pianist Eric Gunnison, bassist Monty Budwig and drummer Sherman Ferguson were a pip rhythm team. Gunnison solos ran from a Basie-like economy to a light-handed Oscar Peterson bluesiness to a bopish flavor, while Budwig, a marvelous player, delivered improvisations that were chock full of zesty melodic lines that crackled. Ferguson generally kept the heat on, though on “South Side Samba” and a sizzling solo feature he turned the burners up to full roar.