JAZZ REVIEW : Shorty Rogers Pulls Off Risky Tightrope Act

You remember Shorty Rogers. He’s the hipster from the ‘50s with the well-trimmed beard; the leader of Shorty Rogers and His Giants, former Kenton trumpeter-composer and member of Howard Rumsey’s Lighthouse All-Stars who had a hand in composing the music for such movies as “The Wild One” and “The Man With the Golden Arm.” His reserved, intellectual style of playing and composing helped shape the West Coast sound of the ‘50s.

The 1990-vintage Rogers was on display Sunday at Gustaf Anders restaurant in Santa Ana. Not surprisingly, little seems changed in the way the trumpeter approaches performing.

Always known for the soft, see-through lightness of his own tone and arrangements, a sound that had much in common with Miles Davis’ “Birth of the Cool” sessions, Rogers spent the afternoon on fluegelhorn, assuring a transparent tone encircled by a comfortable cushion of breath. Contrast came from the more direct sound of saxophonist Bill Perkins, also a veteran of the Kenton band, who added muscle on tenor sax and lean, clever lines on soprano.

Even though Rogers had not rehearsed with his rhythm section--keyboardist Les Czimber’s trio--the fluegelhornist was unwilling to work through a program of standards. This meant short delays between numbers while Rogers explained something on the chart to Czimber or demonstrated rhythms to drummer Nick Martinis. The effect, much like watching a tightrope walker work without a net, added some drama to the largely successful proceedings.

Rogers pulled a couple of tunes from his so-called Martian series recorded in the ‘50s. The spare theme of “Martians Go Home,” stated in unison by Rogers and Perkins on soprano, gave way to the saxophonist’s wily solo above bassist Bruce Lett’s sauntering walk. Rogers blew with a cool that was neither distant nor icy, ending a spirited romp with a siren-like warble. The fluegelhornist showed some breath on “Have You Hugged a Martian Today?” constructing a long series of lines that all seemed to end with a question mark before he turned the solo chores over to Lett for a cleanly pitched, melodic improvisation.

Famed since his days with Kenton as an arranger for big bands, Rogers took “It’s Sand, Man” from the Basie book and worked it into the smaller format, playing the theme in unison with Perkins over Martinis’ rolling mallet attack and Lett’s droning bass line.

Czimber’s thoughtful approach at the keyboard meshed well with Rogers’ own mid-range reserve on this and the fluegelhornist’s tribute to his Lighthouse days, “Casa de Luz.”

Between sets, vocalist Shelley Moore, who was reviewed recently, sang a number of standards with the trio, including “Come Rain or Come Shine” and “I Can’t Give You Anything but Love.” The Sunday series continues Nov. 25, with Gary Scott and the San Diego Jazz Orchestra.