SOUNDS AROUND TOWN : Young Sophisticate : Jazz pianist Benny Green, a veteran at 28, will appear with his trio Wednesday at Shake.

As the new generation of popular jazz players gets younger and younger, the definition of veteran changes. Consider the case of swingingly sophisticated jazz pianist Benny Green, whose trio will make a rare stopover in Santa Barbara this week as part of a West Coast tour.

Green was young before youth was in. He came bounding out of his hometown of Berkeley nine years ago at age 19 and moved to New York. Among other jobs, he played with Walter Bishop Jr., spent four years in the living laboratory of singer Betty Carter’s band, then spent two years with one of the last incarnations of the late Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers. Now, at the ripe old age of 28, Green has a firm foundation and a sparkling resume.

A green veteran with a cause, Green is getting his entree into the front ranks of piano trio leaders none too soon. On his recent, second solo album for Blue Note, “Greens,” the pianist demonstrates a comprehensive appreciation of mainstream jazz piano tradition. He also displays a musical wisdom beyond his years.

Green recently spoke in a telephone interview from his parents’ home in Berkeley. He was in the Bay Area to play at Yoshi’s in Oakland. The trio’s present tour--with up-and-coming bassist Christian MacBride (at 18, a true greenhorn) and drummer Carl Allen, both of whom are also featured on the new album--is leading up to a live recording at New York’s Village Vanguard in November.

The trio initially formed as the rhythm section behind trumpeter Freddie Hubbard. They sensed “a chemistry” within the ranks. Together, they manage to work up a telepathic sense of interplay. As Green said: “We’re friends offstage as well as on, and that always translates to the music.”

When approached thoughtfully, the piano trio setting can be one of the finest small wonders of the jazz world. Green has done a lot of thinking about and working in the trio tradition.

“It’s like a miniature orchestra,” he said.

“The idea is to make use of a variety within the three instruments and still try to go for the fullest sound possible, which doesn’t necessarily mean that everyone is playing at all times. One thing I’m working on pianistically is learning how to let the rhythm section breathe in such a way that the listener can really appreciate the beauty of what the bass and drums are doing, so that the piano is not always covering that up.”

Green has his ears perked for new inspiration from old sources, working backward through the history of jazz.

“Lately,” he said, “I’ve been doing some research in terms of the tradition of piano trios. I’ve been listening to Nat King Cole’s trio and seeing how things stem from that.”

One of the most memorable tunes on the new album is the title kickoff song, a kind of warped, syncopated variation on blues chord changes.

“First of all,” Green said about the tune, “it’s a play on words because it’s a blues. But ‘Greens’ is also one of my nicknames. People used to tell me, ‘If you want to play the blues, you have to eat soul food, eat some fatback.’ I’m a vegetarian, so at least I could eat some greens, collard greens.”

The “Greens” album strikes a happy medium between original tunes and jazz standards. But sometimes Green’s “standards” are more adventurous than his originals.

“Time After Time,” for instance, is revisited, turned into a witty deconstruction of a classic. “Battle Hymn of the Republic” never sounded so sweet and funky.

Green sees his mission as staying grounded in jazz heritage while forging forward on his own, doing his part in music.

“I feel that as young players, with the sad reality of so many great masters leaving the planet, we have to remember that it’s on us to try to extend the tradition. Time is moving forward. If we, in the music, stand still in relation to time, the music will move backward.”

However far he’s come, Green is still trying to find himself.

“To be frank, I’m working on developing my own voice in the music, and I’m aware that the whole tradition of jazz is based upon individuality. I realize that developing your own voice in music doesn’t happen overnight. It takes a lifetime,” he said.

“It’s important to try and live life to the fullest as a human being and to remember as a musician that I am a human being first. The music is a reflection of all my life experiences, feelings and viewpoints. Ultimately, music is, for me, a reflection and a celebration of being alive.”

ALSO UP THE COAST:

When last we heard from Santa Barbara violinist Michelle Makarski early this year, she was steeped in contemporary American music. She performed a recital of new American compositions at Carnegie Hall in February, was interviewed by Jane Pauley on NBC’s “Real Life” and released a very fine debut CD on the New World label. That recording deal came as a result of her winning first prize in the coveted Carnegie Hall International American Music Competition in 1989.

When next we hear from Makarski locally, at UC Santa Barbara’s Lotte Lehmann Concert Hall on Saturday, it will be on more venerable musical turf. For her upcoming recital, with piano accompanist Brent McMunn, the program will include Mozart (her nod to the bicentennial), Schumann, Prokofiev. The most modern piece on the list is Gershwin/Heifetz, whose “Three Preludes” will be performed.

Makarski has been one of the more notable musicians to call the area home, long before her recent bout with fame and good fortune. News of her performing here is always good news.

* WHERE AND WHEN

* The Benny Green Trio will play at Shake, 525 State St., at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday. For information, call 963-8664.

* Michelle Makarski will perform a recital of music by Schumann, Mozart, Prokofiev and Gershwin/Heifetz at UCSB’s Lotte Lehmann Concert Hall at 8 p.m. Saturday. For information, call 893-3535.