CABARET REVIEW : Riley’s Tribute to Louis Jordan

Actor-singer Larry Riley has come up with one of the more fascinating nightclub ideas of recent memory. Best known for his award-winning performance in “A Soldier’s Story” and “Dreamgirls,” Riley steamed into the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel’s Cinegrill on Tuesday night with a vigorously energetic tribute to the late rhythm-and-blues great Louis Jordan, perfectly titled “Let the Good Times Roll.”

Wisely recognizing that Jordan--a saxophonist-singer whose hard-swinging recordings sold more than 15 million copies in the ‘40s and ‘50s--had become virtually unknown to ‘80s audiences, Riley’s performance was a welcome and long overdue revival effort. With a slight physical resemblance, a similarly blues-drenched singing style and a stage presence every bit as charismatic as Jordan’s, Riley effectively demonstrated the strength, the charm and the humor still evident in songs such as “Choo Choo Ch’Boogie,” “Let the Good Times Roll” and “Saturday Night Fish Fry.”

The opening two or three tunes creaked a bit with opening-night stiffness, but Riley and his band, the Tympany Six, quickly settled into an easy, foot-tapping groove. (Although Jordan’s group was actually called the Tympany Five, Riley’s many skills do not yet include playing the saxophone, so that particular part of the Jordan musical persona was filled, admirably, by the boppish alto solos of Gary Bell.)

By the time Riley sang “Don’t Let the Sun Catch You Crying,” a rare ballad, and “If I Had Any Sense, I’d Go Back Home,” he had uncovered not only the energy but also the sharply sardonic wit and humor in Jordan’s music.

Riley was accompanied by Eric Johnson on drums, Lanny Hartley on piano, Bill Sharpe on bass, Cal Bennett on tenor sax, Ralph Ricker on trumpet and Gary Bell on guitar and alto sax.

“Let the Good Times Roll” continues at the Cinegrill tonight, Friday and Saturday.