JAZZ REVIEW : Delightful Moments With Bill Henderson

Bill Henderson’s opening night set at Hollywood’s Catalina Bar & Grill on Tuesday started out with all the signs of a disaster in progress.

The room was barely half full, his accompanying trio--Mike Darson on piano, Brian Bromberg on bass and Dave Karasony on drums--had limited familiarity with Henderson’s arrangements, and the sound system was having problems adjusting the mix between singer and musicians.

But one of the most remarkable qualities of jazz performers is their ability to adjust to musical adversity. Despite the problems, despite Henderson’s occasional irritation with a missed cue here and there, the set was filled with delightful moments, much of it triggered by the musicians’ improvisational skills.

Darson, for example, made the most of the sometimes too-predictable charts, while Bromberg took advantage of a rare--for him--evening on acoustic bass to fill the sound with rich bottom harmonies, and Karasony added a strong contemporary rhythmic surge to the music.

Despite the somewhat unusual contemporary setting for Henderson’s straight-ahead, blues-based style, he responded to it well, especially during his singularly well-chosen ballads. Among the best: Harold Arlen and Truman Capote’s lovely “Don’t Like Goodbyes,” Johnny Mercer and Henry Mancini’s “From Moment To Moment” and Rodgers and Hart’s stunningly somber “It Never Entered My Mind.”

Henderson’s interpretations were minimalist gems: short phrases sung in an airy baritone, filled with crisp accents and subtle twists and turns that never strayed far from the melodies. The result was a group of performances that, in their better moments, illuminated the lyrics of the songs without losing the energy and vitality of jazz.

Henderson closed his two-night run at Catalina’s Wednesday night.