JAZZ REVIEW : Williams’ Quintet Sizzles at Hollywood Club

The brilliance of Tony Williams was in full flower Tuesday night at the Catalina Bar & Grill in Hollywood, where the drummer led his quintet through a six-tune opening set that sizzled from note one.

The legendary drummer started his opening set on a roll--literally--that lasted nearly five minutes. Variously altering the style, speed and dynamics on his crisp-sounding snare drum, Williams maintained the interest of the packed house as would a volcano on the verge of eruption.

Williams’ eruption came in the form of rhythm--a flat-out funk beat that switched to swing as it heralded the Blakey-esque entrance of trumpeter Wallace Roney and tenor saxophonist Don Bradon on “Red Mask,” the first of six compositions by the drummer.

Though each of Williams’ tunes provided ample showcasing of his own drumming--toned down from the mid-’70s style exhibited in his group Lifetime, but considerably more raucous than the delicacies of his early style with the Miles Davis quintet--each also provided fine vehicles for his sidemen.

Both Roney and Bradon showed great spirit and adventure in their various solo outings, the latter offering warm, burnished tones on the tenor in contrast to a thin, reedy sound on the soprano sax.

Particularly deft as both accompanist and soloist was pianist Mulgrew Miller. On “Civilization,” a quietly swinging ballad, Miller answered Williams’ moments of controlled freneticism with harsh dissonance, then eased back into lovely moments of gentle lyricism.

Bassist Ira Coleman, who never soloed during the hourlong set, nonetheless proved his weight in gold with his outstanding, rock-steady support.

Though still at the fore of contemporary drum style, Williams has not broken with much jazz tradition. The two-horn front line was consistently mindful of a tradition that dates to the 1940s (indeed, his ferociously intense “Warriors” was straight out of the bop mold). All of which illustrates the great life left in jazz when put in the hands of masterful talents like Williams.