JAZZ REVIEW : Hammond Quintet at Roxy’s Improvises on the Standards

Jazz finally seems to have found a sturdy outpost in the wild reaches of the west San Fernando Valley. Roxy’s, in Woodland Hills’ new Hilton Hotel, recently inaugurated a five-night-a-week jazz policy featuring some of the Southland’s finest players.

Friday evening, the spacious, casually comfortable room showcased an ensemble led by pianist John Hammond (who also doubles as Roxy’s music director). The group--which included all-star hornmen Ray Pizzi on tenor saxophone and Steve Hufsteder on trumpet and flugelhorn, with Luther Hughes on bass and Bob Leatherbarrow on drums--used a group of standards as the takeoff point for a set of first-rate jazz improvisations.

Hammond provided a great deal of the initial energy via his solid piano accompaniments. Although he is not an aggressive soloist, his moments in the spotlight resulted in a series of well-conceived, often slyly humorous variations.

Hufsteder’s playing resonated with the gorgeous, bell-like high notes that are his trademark; his solos on “Green Dolphin Street” and “Days of Wine and Roses” were crafted with the delicate precision and flawless purity of a Lalique crystal.

Pizzi’s style was far different. His horn exuded sounds ranging from multinote smears and low register honks to high harmonics and energetic shouts. In sharp contrast to Hufsteder’s crystalline precision, Pizzi was a musical Van Gogh, his solos bursting forth in great, whirling gusts of light and color.

On “It Could Happen to You,” he applied rich, new brush strokes to the song’s familiar chords. When a request was made for “Danny Boy,” he transformed a song viewed by many musicians as a worn-out chestnut into a passionate, gospel-tinged, improvisational sermon.

The rhythm team of Leatherbarrow and Hughes, working unobtrusively but supportively, laid down a foundation that made it possible for Hammond, Hufsteder and Pizzi to soar freely.

The John Hammond Quintet appears every Friday at Roxy’s. Various other jazz groups can be heard Tuesday through Saturday nights.