JAZZ REVIEW : Getz and Crew in a Foot-Tapping Groove

Stan Getz is back, seemingly completely recovered from a serious cancer operation last year and full of vim and vigor.

At the Hollywood Bowl Wednesday, where he opened for Grover Washington Jr., the tenor saxophonist was superb, magically mixing melodic elegance and walloping swing into an enthralling, bracing potion.

Accompanied by a stellar trio of Kenny Barron, piano, Rufus Reid, bass, and Victor Lewis, drums, Getz, as always, chose splendid tunes.

Opening with a rippling “Fantasy in D” by Cedar Walton, where the leader played big, fat notes followed by galloping lines, Getz and crew segued to the lovely Sam Rivers ballad “Beatrice.” Here the hornman sang, going with soft, cooing tones and harsher brays, plucking out the tune’s melody notes during his solo like a keen shopper with an eye for only the best fruit.

“O Morro” found Getz revealing his singular feel for Brazilian music, balancing long, intense tones with open-the-floodgates streams. Ellington’s “Warm Valley” was yet another example of his ability to offer a song with excruciating ecstasy.

Barron, a remarkable soloist, was both complex and accessible. On Thad Jones’ “Yours and Mine,” he offered pockets of dense melodic color, then played statements of a few select notes. During his solo on Wayne Shorter’s “Lester Left Town,” he capped several phrases with trills that twinkled like sparklers. Reid and Lewis were essential to the foot-tapping grooves the band achieved almost at will.

Washington, though a melodist like Getz, played in a much different ballpark. Basically, his vehicles were “body music” numbers such as “Strawberry Moon” and “Moonstreams,” in which a somewhat whistleable tunefulness evolved into intense jazz/funks moods that featured the leader wailing hail and hearty on tenor, alto or soprano saxophone.

And while the melodies were rendered by Washington with a sweet, singing tone, his solo passages--replete with high, held notes, rapid-fire bursts and short, funky ideas, over simplistic harmonic frameworks--became so repetitive that he painted his show into a musical corner.

Still, on a few tunes, such as “Lullaby for Shana Bly” and “Summer Nights,” Washington played with a more complex slant that resulted in refreshing phrases from the saxophonist and his sextet. Chances are Washington could greatly improve his show by playing more challenging material and still not lose fan one.

Attendance: 13,655.

Getz closes a two-nighter at the Loa in Santa Monica tonight.