JAZZ REVIEW : All Stars Retrofit for the ‘90s

Nostalgia can be a powerful weapon, but it needs a little sharpening to lift it out of the realm of mere sentimentality. The Lighthouse All Stars, opening Thursday to a packed house at Catalina’s, made it very clear that they are aware of this necessity.

Officially a cooperative, the eight-piece group is in effect co-led by Shorty Rogers, who plays the fluegelhorn and has written or rewritten most of the library, and alto saxophonist Bud Shank.

Two other front-line members (Conte Candoli, trumpet, and Bob Cooper, tenor) were associated off and on in the 1950s, mainly at the Hermosa Beach club that gave the group its name. Bill Perkins’ baritone sax (doubling on soprano and tenor) rounded out a horn section that enables Rogers to bring a fresh and more vigorous impetus to the band.

West Coast jazz in the Lighthouse years came under fire for its alleged hyper-coolness and lethargy. If that was a half-truth then, it is utterly false today. These five artists, all born in the mid-1920s, convey a consistent sense of power.

They are aided by a new rhythm section, its members all slightly younger. Stan Levey, now a successful photographer, has given way to Larance Marable, a driving but never over-assertive drummer. Howard Rumsey, the bassist who founded the group, has retired, and Monty Budwig is playing more bass than anyone dreamed of in the old days. Pianist Pete Jolly, who did work with Rogers back then, fills the bill ideally.

The Rogers tunes range from “Fun,” a cheerful theme full of dancing triplets, to “Martians Go Home,” a simple eight-note blues riff, and a colorfully arranged tune named for the Lighthouse itself, “Casa de Luz.”

Shank’s ballad mood was tellingly represented in “Lotus Bud,” which he and Rogers recorded in 1954. Cooper, always a master of timing with an impassioned sound, proved a tough man to follow.

The Lighthouse keepers plan to record, tour and make the European festival scene. Though they have had previous reunions, this one is for real, and as the audience made clear Thursday, the enthusiasm is mutual.

Lighthouse All Stars: Catalina Bar & Grill, 1640 N. Cahuenga, Hollywood, through tonight, (213) 466-2210.