POP MUSIC REVIEW : At 68, Irresistible Johnny Otis Just Can’t Be Beat on R&B; Stage

If a fountain of youth is ever discovered, it may have musical notes rather than water pouring from it. Performing at Newport’s Cafe Lido on Sunday, 68-year-old R&B; bandleader Johnny Otis radiated the same youthful sparkle that stayed with Duke Ellington and so many other musicians through all their years.

When Otis launched into his trademark “Willie and the Hand Jive” late in his first set, it was with all the enthusiasm that had made his original 1958 recording so irresistible.

The show began nearly two hours later than its scheduled 3 p.m. start, but part of that wait was filled by the amusing sight of the crew trying to figure how to fit 13 musicians, six ‘40s-style music stands, a vibraphone and a grand piano on the Lido’s mini-van-sized stage (three sax players and the vibes wound up on the club floor).

Despite the cramped quarters, Otis, his nine-piece band and three singers managed an expansive blowing session which, rather than relying on Otis’ able songbook, was more a history of American dance-band music of the last 60 years.

Included in that span was Ellington’s late ‘20s “Creole Love Call,” with some spare, Duke-ish piano turns from Otis, and a medley of ‘60s soul tunes. That segment featured vocalists Jackie Payne and Ledee Streeter tackling the Ike-&-Tina arrangement of “Proud Mary,” Wilson Pickett’s “Funky Broadway” and “Land of 1,000 Dances” and James Brown’s “When You Touch Me I Can’t Stand Myself.”

Barbara Morrison, who sang with Otis from 1976 to 1988, joined him for the first time in two years to lend her splendid pipes--equally adept at both jazz and R&B--to; “Stormy Monday,” “Every Day I Have the Blues” and to a playfully argumentative duet with Otis. Morrison is the Cafe Lido’s entertainment director, and she sings there Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday nights with the Wayne Wayne Band.

Otis’ most recent discovery, a singer who goes by the sole name of Ramona, showed that he hasn’t lost his ear as a talent scout. (His finds have included Etta James, Jackie Wilson, Hank Ballard and Little Esther.) On the R&B; burner “I’m in the Driver’s Seat” and Billie Holiday’s timeless ballad “God Bless the Child,” Ramona exercised a voice that recalled the young Aretha Franklin in its power and inflection, if not in its emotional chance-taking. The latter number also showcased Otis’ fluid, tasteful piano comping, which was buried by the band on the louder charts.

While he was joined in the rhythm section by three younger players--including son Nicky Otis on drums--the six-man horn section was full of seasoned vets, including former Sun Ra tenor sax and clarinet man Ronald Wilson and Ray Charles alumnus Clifford Solomon on alto sax. Solomon’s sinuous horn led the way through Otis’ 1946 “Harlem Nocturne,” while Wilson’s clarinet held sway on “Creole Love Call.”

The musical excellence throughout was abetted by the mood of the band members, who seemed to enjoy each other’s solos like old friends swapping stories. Throughout the show, Otis beamed as if he were the happiest man in the world, and, leading such an outfit, there was little reason why he shouldn’t be.

With the loss a few years ago of Southern California’s other great R&B; bandleader, Joe Liggins, the Otis show is that much more of a precious commodity.