JAZZ REVIEW : ‘Great Arrangers’: A Spellbinding Matinee

The great outdoor jazz concert season has begun, and it could hardly have started more stylishly than with the triple-threat attraction offered Sunday afternoon by KLON at the John Anson Ford Theatre.

“Jazz West Coast: The Great Arrangers” was the apt title. Three big bands were led by Shorty Rogers, Gerald Wilson and Bill Holman, whose writing, coupled with a full measure of spirited solos, determined the success of this often-spellbinding matinee.

Rogers was the most traditional, using several charts he wrote for sessions in the 1940s or ‘50s. Some were derivative but pleasant in a Basie vein; others, possibly more recent, reflected an innovative orchestral approach.

The brass section included two valve trombonists: Mike Fahn was at his voluble best in “I’m Gonna Go Fishin’ ” and Bob Enevoldsen was well-framed in the richly textured “Contours.”

“Lanny Morgan,” a mini-suite for saxophone, came alive via shifts of tempo, meter and mood, with Morgan’s alto in rare form. The Coopers, Bob on tenor and Buster on trombone, also brought substance to the set, which ended with a glittering sublimation of Bud Powell’s “Un Poco Loco.”

Gerald Wilson moved from his standard blues opener to a series of originals, of which the Mexican-flavored “Carlos” was most typical of his unique scoring. “Pisces” found pianist Milcho Leviev in frantic form as he plowed excitingly through its shifting rhythms.

Wilson brought on a long-ago sideman, trumpeter Carmell Jones (now residing in Kansas City) as a guest soloist, reviving such early band pieces as “Blues for Yna Yna” and “Viva Tirado.” Jones has lost none of his lyrical identity. Ron Barrows on trumpet, Louis Bonilla on trombone and Scott Mayo on alto helped establish the Wilson imprimatur.

Bill Holman’s set displayed his arranging skill along with a sense of humor that informs such charts as his “Moon of Mannakoora” parody; the Monk tune “I Mean You,” given over mainly to three soprano saxes; and the witty “Just Friends,” in which a dozen horns play several choruses entirely in unison, in the style of an ad lib solo.

Bob Cooper broke it up with his masterful tenor sax on “Rhythm-A-Ning.” The Mingus composition “Goodby Pork Pie Hat” was plaintively scored, using everything from piccolo and bass clarinet to muted brass.

The next concert in KLON’s series will be “A Celebration of Stan Kenton,” with an alumni band, April 2 at the Ford Theatre.