JAZZ REVIEW : A Collection of the Contemporary at Shrine

There were many fits and starts in the programming, the hot weather didn’t provide much cooperation, and the audience was enthusiastic, but small. Still, Sunday night’s L.A. Jazz ’88 concert at Shrine Auditorium was a largely successful tour through a colorful selection of contemporary jazz.

Canadian pianist Oliver Jones opened the program with a set of rhythmic improvisations filled with enough pyrotechnics to call up a comparison with his mentor, Oscar Peterson. Working with the sterling local duo of Andy Simpkins on bass and Ralph Penland on drums, Jones was at his best on pieces (“Something for Luke” was a good example) that triggered his infectious ability to swing.

Singer Gloria Lynne, accompanied by the versatile pianist/harmonica player, Ron Kalina, contributed a set of her typically velvet-toned ballads. She was followed by a tap dancer named Chris Belliou, whose erratic rhythms and awkward style made his presence in the show a mystery.

A set by James Moody found the saxophonist in a somewhat whimsical frame of mind. After a stunning improvisation on “Autumn Leaves,” he quickly shifted into a vocal mode for lightweight runs through “Pennies From Heaven” and his own “Moody’s Mood for Love.” Fortunately, trombonist Slide Hampton joined him for a return to more creative activities in a brisk exchange on “Confirmation.”

Nat Adderly’s workmanlike, but not especially energetic, set came to life whenever alto saxophonist Steven Johns stepped forward. Playing with the full tone and double-time articulation of Adderly’s famous departed sibling, Julian (Cannonball) Adderly, Johns revealed an improvisational skill only a step or two removed from world-class jazz level.

The festival climax was provided by an all-star big band conducted by veteran Los Angeles jazz man Buddy Collette. A somewhat erratic start soon leveled off into the kind of rich-sounding, emotion-filled ensemble playing that is too rarely heard in more technique-oriented big bands.

Among the many soloists, tenor saxophonist Joe Henderson and trombonists Buster Cooper and Garnett Brown made the most of their moments in the spotlight. Vocalist Bill Henderson’s up-front, declamatory style was especially appealing on a steaming version of “I Hear Music.”

It was fitting that L.A. Jazz ‘88--which celebrated a gutsy, rhythmic style of improvisation that is not always as familiar as it should be to those who view West Coast Jazz as cool and detached--should conclude with an ensemble featuring the stirring work of so many players who were instrumental in the evolution of that music.