JAZZ REVIEW : Like Father, Like Daughter

If there were such a category as lounge jazz, the music played at Drake’s in Glendale by Jimmy and Stacy Rowles and Eric Von Essen would qualify as a splendid illustration of the genre.

As the only celebrated father-daughter team on the jazz scene, the Rowleses have worked together off and on for several years. Friday they were seemingly under wraps, but the implicit don’t-disturb-the-diners mood did little to minimize their impact.

Stacy Rowles has always brought to the fluegelhorn a mellow, delicate sound. Jimmy Rowles, a pianist whose credits go back to the early ‘40s, is a master of the art of understatement. His single-note lines alternate with rich, sensuous chords in a manner that is totally his own.

Both are familiar with the repertoires of every era from swing to post-bop. The collaboration on the Ellington-Strayhorn “Star-Crossed Lovers” brought out all the poignancy of this melodic gem. Lee Morgan’s “Ceora,” Gillespie’s “Night in Tunisia” and Jobim’s “Girl From Ipanema” showed their capacity for covering all idiomatic bases.

Von Essen, the trio’s regular bassist, is the ideal match; his sound is clear but laid-back, his solos are consistently imaginative.

Occasionally Stacy Rowles will indulge her vocal talent, which is modest but serviceable. On this occasion she sang a little-known, 1935 song by Ray (Cherokee) Noble, “Why Stars Come Out at Night.” As much as anyone now creating meaningful music, Jimmy and Stacy Rowles illustrate a point that has long been evident: There is no generation gap in jazz.

* The Rowles trio will appear Friday at the Jazz Bakery in Culver City.