Jazz Review : Phil Woods Quintet Fills Catalina Bar & Grill

No doubt as insurance against the pre-Christmas slump, Catalina Popescu brought Phil Woods to her Catalina Bar & Grill for a run that began Tuesday. Judging by the business on opening night, the ploy worked well.

The Woods group has changed slightly in its tonal character. With the departure of trumpeter Tom Harrell, it was decided to replace him with a trombonist. Woods could hardly have made a better choice than Hal Crook, who fits the quintet admirably.

Crook’s horn blends with the leader’s alto as they weave in and out of unison, harmony and counterpart. The trombone having been in decline as a small band voice, a prominent soloist of this caliber can do much to restore its popular acceptance. Crook plays with Swiss-movement precision, but without sacrificing emotion, as he detonates chorus after agile chorus.

Woods’ own “All Bird’s Children” was predictably peppered with oblique references to Charlie Parker, not without any actual quotes from Bird solos. The follow-up, a more restrained “My Man Benny,” was a salute to his other alto idol, Benny Carter, with whom he recently recorded an album.

Switching to clarinet, with Crook using a plunger mute, Woods set up alternately relaxed and mock-Dixieland moods on an early Carter work, “Just a Mood.” Crook’s value as an arranger was established with his treatments of “From This Moment On” and “The Best Is Yet to Come,” both whimsically disguised with revamped melodies and improbable tempos.

As always, Woods’ rhythm section supported the horns well; Steve Gilmore’s bass and Bill Goodwin’s drums were totally attuned to the charts and the soloist. Hal Galper’s generally compatible piano tended to floridity on “Porgy,” which was mainly a solo showcase for Crook in his elegant ballad style.

Woods & Co. close Sunday.