JAZZ REVIEW : Juggernaut All-Stars Sparkle at Gulch

Be-bop was the language of choice, and one spoken with a sparkling fluency, when drummer Frank Capp--stepping out in an unusual small-band role--led his Juggernaut All-Stars through a tasty first set Wednesday at Stingaree Gulch, the newly opened jazz room in the Sheraton San Pedro.

The band drew its name from the fact that trumpeter Conte Candoli, saxophonist Joe Romano, bassist Chuck Berghofer and pianist Tom Ranier all play with the Capp-Pierce Juggernaut big band, which Capp co-leads with pianist/arranger Nat Pierce. (Ranier subs for Pierce on occasion.)

The evening was highlighted by the presence of Candoli--the recently announced recipient of the Los Angeles Jazz Society’s annual Tribute Award--who hides away in “The Tonight Show” orchestra and rarely plays nightclubs, either as a leader or a sideman. The veteran brassman, who just celebrated his 63rd birthday, played with the snap and crackle that has marked his work since the late ‘40s, when he was with Woody Herman.

Berghofer was a late arrival and it was interesting to note how much the fullness of the bass was missed, and how well Ranier and Capp compensated for that lack in charged versions of “Billie’s Bounce” and “Anthropology.” By its fourth number, “Alone Together,” the band--including Berghofer--had jelled nicely and the fellows seemed to have adjusted to the acoustics of the room, which were first-rate.

On “Alone,” Romano, who plays with a dark, handsome sound, built his solo with guttural grunts, pencil-thin shrieks, lines that staggered like a wobbling drunk and rhythmically tight statements. Here Candoli quoted Sonny Rollins’ “Alfie’s Theme” and Cozy Cole’s “Topsy” and modulated from a bright, brilliant sound to a fat, sizzling one, cranking out sequential series of neatly strung-together ideas that packed a wallop. Ranier’s keen modernity added contrast, and Capp and Berghofer kept things cooking consistently.