JAZZ REVIEW : Montreal Surrenders to an Armed, Dangerous Anderson

Ray Anderson is all but unknown in Los Angeles, yet his reputation in New York and around Europe is legendary. Friday evening, returning to the Montreal Festival where he triumphed two years ago, the 38-year-old Chicagoan was armed and dangerous: Armed with a trombone, he is an outrageous, brash, florid chance-taker who is liable to tear off an avant garde 1990 solo using a 1930-style Tricky Sam Nanton plunger mute.

Playing the horn that he has almost single-handedly brought back to the forefront, Anderson opened with a five-minute series of cadenzas that summed up the entire history of jazz trombone; finally the rhythm section joined him as he slipped into “In a Mellotone,” in a tone that was anything but mellow.

Even when he speaks, he sounds like a human growl trombone. When he sings, something wild happens: He uses his guttural voice multiphonically--yes, he actually sings chords. The man must be heard to be disbelieved.

His team matches him in panidiomatic daring: Fumio Itabashi covers the piano gamut from old-line be-bop to borderline Cecil Taylor, and Mark Dresser is as likely as not to thrash the bass with his bow. Drummer Dion Parsons set a Latin beat as the quartet encored with an irreverent look at “Mona Lisa.”

Anderson provided the climax to an eventful three-concert evening that had begun at 6 with the Bobby Hutcherson Quartet. The vibes master from California unveiled a new group he had brought from New York: Rob Schneiderman, whose darting phrases met the challenge of a frantic tempo on Herbie Hancock’s “One Finger Snap,” Sante Debriano on bass and Billy Drummond on drums.

Hutcherson’s fast tempos defied the eyes to follow his mallets amid the blur of notes. In the ballads--”Never Let Me Go” and his own perennial “Little B’s Waltz”--virtuosity gave way to grace and economy.

One tune played by Hutcherson, “Recordame,” was composed by the saxophonist Joe Henderson, who coincidentally was heard in the 8:30 concert. This was another of those generation-and-border-crossing duos; the 53-year-old Henderson was teamed with a 26-year-old pianist from Saskatchewan, Jon Ballantyne, who won this festival’s new talent contest in 1986.

These two, who have worked together in Japan and the United States, and whose record “Skydance” won Canada’s Juno Award as best album of 1989, were in a sober, almost somber mood much of the time. In fact, Ballantyne’s solo tune was called “Search for Solemnity.” An eclectic who prefers free-floating explorations to swinging tempos, he is still a stimulating partner for Henderson, whose blustering runs and gritty growls were offset by Ballantyne’s speculative wanderings on the Sam Rivers tune “Beatrice” and the standard “Invitation.”

As the festival neared its end (the final indoor concerts, with Dick Hyman, Art Blakey and others, were Saturday, and the last outdoor street bashes were set for Sunday), a few particular moments justify special comment: McCoy Tyner in fierce full swing; Moore Tatum and Monk on the latter’s “I Mean You”; the keening soprano sax of Toronto’s Jane Bunnett, with pianist Don Pullen, in her own pensive “Ginastera.”

There was also the slow, arch blues of Herb Ellis and Wed Mitchell in their guitar-bass duo concert, and the weird bowed bass effect by Charlie Haden on his “In the Moment” duet with Jim Hall. (Hall was one of the few visiting jazz men to take the trouble to announce in French.)

There have been some inexplicable happenings: Anita Baker solemnly pronouncing herself a convert to jazz; the use of Shirley Bassey, Celia Cruz and others of dubious validity. They were forgivable because at any given time one had from three to five options.

With the outdoor concerts accounting for most of the total, the festival has attracted 100,000 visitors a day; thus the million mark was due to be reached by Sunday. Best of all, by staying near the blocked-off festival area, it was possible not to see a taxi or automobile for 10 foot-loose days. New York was never like this.