JAZZ REVIEW : Parker & Friends Let Loose at Wadsworth

“We’re not going to spend too much time on formalities,” announced alto saxophonist Maceo Parker during his opening piece at UCLA’s Wadsworth Theater Sunday. “You’re here. We’re here. Let’s get down.”

That no-nonsense attitude pervaded the sparkling, 90-minute performance by Parker, whose “Roots Revisited” album recently topped the jazz charts. Joined by fellow James Brown hornmen Fred Wesley and Alfred (Pee Wee) Ellis, Parker drew from both the JB funk legacy and the jazz, gospel and R&B; styles from which it initially sprang.

Parker’s clipped, staccato phrasing and Wesley’s brash trombone tone stood out on the up-tempo pieces while Ellis’ breathy, mellow tenor sparkled on the ballad “Inarticulate Speech of the Heart” (which he co-wrote with Van Morrison). Their veterans’ savvy showed in occasional gorgeous harmony blends and dynamic touches--little tricks of the trade that went a long way in flavoring straight-ahead groove music.

The grooves shifted between loose, limber shuffle blues to hard, tight funk, and drummer Bill Stewart merited special notice for adroitly handling two vastly dissimilar rhythm feels. Larry Goldings’ Hammond organ provided intelligently spare fills and strong, left-hand bass lines while guitarist Allan Jaffe comped effectively and soloed tentatively.

The band proved its mettle on “Everywhere Is Our Town” when the unmiked hornmen took a crowd-pleasing stroll through the audience. Parker briefly helped himself to a seat in the third row, Ellis serenaded a year-old child, and Wesley wandered off through the foyer, playing all the while.

Parker’s success may have a dual benefit--dispelling some of the formal aura often surrounding jazz and introducing younger fans to earlier facets of the jazz tradition.