JAZZ REVIEW : Adolfo: Brisk, Not Intense

Does Brazil have its own set of baby boomers? If so, then Antonio Adolfo must be high on their list of fave raves.

The relatively unknown--in this country, at least--Brazilian composer-keyboardist appeared at Le Cafe Tuesday night with a group of local musicians in a program that almost bubbled over with effervescent good nature. Adolfo’s keyboard work was brisk and lively, and his compositions were melodic and easily accessible--the stuff of which New Wave, jazz-based, yuppie Muzak is made.

So what was the problem? A lack of intensity, for one thing. Adolfo’s music promised the passion and the sensuality of Brazil, but never quite managed to deliver it.

His solos reverberated with classical training, the notes always precise, always exactly in the center of the beat, but rarely energized by the forward momentum of good jazz playing. His pieces (many of which were from a new album not yet released in the U.S.) occasionally touched upon samba rhythms, but, as with his playing, they didn’t quite manage to get beneath the surface into the heart of the matter.

Curiously, the evening’s best moments came during a brief excursion through “ ‘Round Midnight” and a rousing blues. Gary Meek’s saxophone work provided some previously missing voltage, while bassist Bob Harrison, drummer Bernie Dresel and percussionist Ron Wagner--freed of the need to read Adolfo’s unfamiliar charts--played with a loose and driving swing.

But the program, in total, left a lot to be desired. In his native Brazil, Adolfo is both a performer and a teacher. For this outing, at least, we heard too much of the didacticism of the teacher and too little of the passion of the performer.