JAZZ REVIEW : Wayne Henderson With All Stars

The appearance of Wayne Henderson’s All Stars at Birdland West Thursday night in Long Beach did not work out quite as advertised. The often-ephemeral Freddie Hubbard, listed as one of the All Stars in the club’s August schedule, was nowhere to be seen; neither was bassist Wilton Felder, also announced. Nor was it clear whether guitarist Phil Upchurch and bassist Nathan East were replacements for Hubbard and Felder or were the players described in the schedule as “Surprise Artists.”

Those personnel questions aside, Henderson’s group still had more than enough sterling members to justify the “All Stars” billing.

Pianist Bobby Lyle took the spotlight with two of his own compositions, “Ivory Dreams” and “Night Breeze”; both bristled with the colorful mixture of crisp rhythms and atmospheric harmonies that are the essence of his style.

Headline moments were also supplied by Ronnie Laws’ hard-driving tenor saxophone on his own “Always There,” and Henderson’s fascinating euphonium solo on “Lover Man.” Too little was heard, however, of the leader’s J. J. Johnson-esque trombone playing.

As he often does, guitarist Upchurch contributed some of the most unusual moments, with a series of solos that strummed, snapped and crackled to the outer limits of his blues-based style. Bassist East and drummer Ndugu Chancler, however, spent most of the time in valuable supporting roles. But percussionist Miyuto took advantage of a solo opportunity with a dramatic excursion through his percussive devices.

Clearly the evening was not, as one might have anticipated from the original announcement, a mini-revival of the Crusaders. It was an opportunity to hear a major-league collection of performers play first-rate contemporary jazz.

Wayne Henderson’s All Stars continue at Birdland West tonight with shows at 9:30 and 11:30.