JAZZ REVIEW : Hubbard Quintet at Catalina Bar

Freddie Hubbard, now in his early 50s, has acquired the look of a smiling Buddha, with smooth, round cheeks, heavily lidded eyes and a tranquil countenance. Top it off with the jaunty yachting cap and colorful scarf he wore Thursday night at Catalina Bar & Grill, and the image is one of a kind of whimsical serenity.

But it’s a deceptive image. Like Louis Armstrong and Dizzy Gillespie--whom he also has come to resemble, both in appearance and in magisterial presence--Hubbard’s placid look is the cover for a turbulently energetic creative personality.

Unfortunately, his opening set was not one of the better samplings of that creativity in action. The band--Bob Shepard on saxophone and flute, Louis Hayes on drums, John Beasley on piano, John Leftwich on bass--seemed a little uncertain about how to interact, and Hubbard was having trouble getting his trumpet improvisations off the ground. Even so, there was electricity in the air. Hubbard plays better on an off night than many players do during the finest moments.

An opening stroll through Randy Weston’s “Hi-Fly” found Hubbard struggling with a Harmon-muted solo. Halfway through the tune, he finally pulled out the mute and turned the bell of his horn toward the ceiling for a liberating explosion of sound. He sounded better on Cedar Walton’s “Bolivia” and finally hit his stride with a floating, lyrical set of variations on “Up Jumped Spring” and a high-speed chase through “The Song Is You.”

Shepard played with his usual wry dependability, while Beasley and Leftwich laid down a supportive, if not always particularly stimulating, carpet of rhythm. Hayes, in from New York for the date, seemed best attuned to the ebb and flow of Hubbard’s soloing.

The Hubbard Quintet continues at Catalina’s through Sunday night.