JAZZ REVIEW : Davis Fills a Candoli Bill Just Fine : When the ‘Tonight Show’ trumpeter bowed out, one of L.A.’s busiest studio horn players stepped in, contributing some relaxed, intimate sounds.

Those who came to Maxwell’s by the Sea on Sunday afternoon to hear “Tonight Show” trumpeter Conte Candoli may have been disappointed when he didn’t show, but those who stuck around to hear his replacement, Joe Davis, were well rewarded.

Davis, one of Los Angeles’ busiest studio trumpeters, is seldom seen out on the area’s club circuit. Although he got the call to substitute for Candoli on Saturday (who bowed out because of a late commitment), he fit right in to the lounge scene at Maxwell’s and keyboardist-vocalist Frankie Randall’s trio. Davis, who stuck to the fluegelhorn for most of the afternoon, worked a relaxed, intimate sound to a string of standards that included such workhorses as “Satin Doll,” “On Green Dolphin Street” and “A Foggy Day in London Town.”

Randall, who appears in the surf-side room Thursday through Saturday evenings as well as Sunday afternoons, brings a wealth of small-room experience to the bandstand. He was a fixture at Jilly’s Club in New York for seven years and, more recently, has appeared at the Golden Nugget in Las Vegas and Bally’s in Atlantic City, where he also booked the entertainment for a number of years. His smooth, personal vocal style fit the material well, and he resisted the kind of gimmicky, over-stylized delivery--the sort of lounge singing Bill Murray parodied so well years back on “Saturday Night Live” that trivializes this kind of music.

Randall’s piano work was neither overly ambitious nor simplistic. He stayed close to the melody during solos, providing himself with spare, left-hand accompaniment while letting his right do most of the talking. He infrequently expanded the quartet’s sound with string or horn passages that he pulled from a small synthesizer. The resulting cozy sound was just the thing for a Sunday afternoon.

The group’s most impressive performances were turned in by Jim DeJulio, a bassist known for his 18-year association with “The Mike Douglas Show” orchestra and his recordings with musicians that include Dionne Warwick, Barry Manilow and the Spinners. DeJulio, who recently toured with Frank Sinatra, worked a full-bodied tone and an on-the-money pitch that he decorated with sliding double stops and swirling figures that started in the upper register and cascaded to the lower. His solos were the afternoon’s most involved, featuring quick, pointed runs peppered with melodic references.

Rounding out the quartet was drummer Jim DeJulio, the bassist’s son. The younger DeJulio, a member of pop group Christine in the Attic, proved himself a competent jazz percussionist with a solid sense of time and an inventive way with percussive embellishment.

Davis’ breathy fluegelhorn tone was particularly suggestive during “It Had to Be You.” During the number, he quoted from “Tea for Two”--his solos were often filled with lines from other tunes--before going on to a long, steamy display of breath. He switched to trumpet for an upbeat “Route 66,” giving the popular road tune a more upfront approach that Randall matched with a tenor-like solo from his synth.

The Sunday afternoon sessions at Maxwell’s continue next week with singer Mavis Rivers.