Mitchell Is Easy on the Ears : The pianist’s band, featuring reed man John Bolivar, offers simple entertainment in Newport Beach show.

Billy Mitchell’s music is user-friendly.

Leading a quartet that featured reed man John Bolivar Thursday at Cafe Lido, Mitchell offered an uncomplicated assortment of pop standards and jazz classics that was easy to listen to, that you didn’t need an antacid to digest, that--pure and simple--entertained. It wasn’t high art, but it was accessible.

The veteran Los Angeles-based pianist--tall and slim, dressed in a long-sleeved white shirt buttoned at the collar, gray slacks and a dashing bronze metal tie--has a feeling for the blues. And while he programmed only one strictly blues number, Harry (Sweets) Edison’s “Centerpiece,” during his opening set, Mitchell invested the other selections with at least some indigo or gospel-tinged moments.

Take “Broadway,” the set’s opener. After delivering the tune’s bouncy melody in harmony with Bolivar, who played flute (he also played alto and tenor saxophones during the evening), the pianist backed Bolivar spiritedly, as did drummer Lee Venters and bassist Curtis Robertson Jr.

Bolivar, looking dapper in a gray suit with a black shirt and a black tie with a saxophone emblazoned on it, generated heat by following curved, rhythmic lines with briefer bursts, with Venters adding accents.

Then the leader--an animated performer who bent forward or leaned back as he worked, often with his countenance outfitted with a smile--extemporized, and was soon offering bluesy chords and repeating short funky ideas that recalled the style of noted blues-based pianist Gene Harris.

Mitchell opened “Green Dolphin Street” unaccompanied, going from runs that swirled like a river roaring past rocks, to leapfrog arpeggio vaults up the keyboard. Then, after the Latin-ish rhythmic vamp that Miles Davis first used when he introduced the tune to jazz audiences in the late ‘50s, Bolivar played the melody, again on flute.

The reed man’s breathy sound was engaging, as was his way of keeping the song’s familiar melody at least occasionally popping up within his improvisation. And slower, more deliberate bluesy statements contrasted effectively with passages played so fast that the notes seemed to blur.

The leader began his solo with cleanly executed up-and-down-the-keyboard runs followed by be-bop lines with interesting twists and turns. Ultimately, he opted for a series of funkier ideas--either sharply attacked short statements, or tremolos, where he rolled his hand quickly and repeatedly over three or four notes. He ended his improvisation with a twinkling, high-register trill that drew immediate applause.

The comely ballad “My Funny Valentine” was followed by a vibrant look at “I’ll Remember April,” where Bolivar picked up his alto sax and blew notes marked by a resonant, cherry-red sound. The saxophonist mixed things up here, developing a solo that was both communicative and musical. Lightning-fast double-time runs gave way to simpler statements that had a nice swing feel.

Here Mitchell also established a solid groove, emitting melodically based lines that had emotion. At one, he dropped in some Erroll Garner-ish ringing chords which offered welcome reminders of the late great’s dancing style.

Robertson and Venters kept the front-liners on their toes, prodding and pushing the proceedings with deft touches.

Occasionally, Mitchell’s use of cliches wore a bit thin, but he had Bolivar’s significant prowess to balance those redundancies.

The Billy Mitchell Band with John Bolivar plays again Thursday, Dec. 26, at 8:30 p.m. at Cafe Lido, 501 30th St., Newport Beach. (714) 675-2968.