JAZZ REVIEW : Explosive Cobham Combo at Catalina

Billy Cobham likes a lot of action in his music--swirling rhythms, multilayered sounds, sudden shifts of mood and color. This week, at Hollywood’s Catalina Bar and Grill, he’s getting all he can handle.

Unlike his appearance in the same venue last January, Cobham’s opening-night performance was a highly energized whirlwind of activity, largely due to the effective interaction between Cobham and saxophonist Ernie Watts, bassist Brian Bromberg and keyboardist Joe Chindamo.

The message that this combination was going to be something special came a few moments after Cobham kicked off “Channel,” the opening number. Watt’s alto saxophone took off like a rocket, propelled into improvisational orbit by a blistering rhythmic exchange between Cobham and Bromberg.

Other numbers followed the same pattern--especially Watts’ “On the Border” and Cobham’s “Laid Back Lifestyle.” Occasional lapses of fervor popped up during the ensemble sections, no doubt due to the drummer’s lack of sufficient rehearsal time with the Los Angeles players. But Cobham wisely de-emphasized the written passages in favor of the almost compositional, spontaneous musical connections that arose in the solo sections.

Watts, as always, was marvelous, especially on tenor saxophone, which seemed to trigger his most exploratory improvisations. Bromberg’s work has become so stirring in the last year or so that most bands can’t resist the temptation to use him as a front-line soloist. Only Chindamo seemed a bit subdued, perhaps not yet sure of his role with this explosive combination.

Cobham’s final solo summed up the set--a brilliant excursion across his multitude of percussion instruments that was as thoughtfully varied as it was passionately intense. Catalina’s clearly has a winner this week. The Cobham group continues through Sunday.