MUSIC / JAZZ REVIEWS : The Blues Plate Special: A Little British Jam

Those who stuck around Wednesday for saxophonist Eric Marienthal’s last set at the Studio Cafe got a little something out of the ordinary: fresh from an Orange County Performing Arts Center appearance with the Minnesota Orchestra, British violinist Nigel Kennedy dropped in to jam.

It’s something he likes to do wherever he travels, whether it’s jazz, rock or R & B, Kennedy said after the nearly hourlong set. No stranger to jazz--Kennedy studied with Stephane Grappelli and has played with Stan Getz and Helen Humes among others--this Brit seemed to fit right in with Marienthal’s quartet and the club’s funky ambience, a far different scene than the vast, more sedate site of his earlier performance.

The violinist is also no stranger to Marienthal. They met more than a year ago after one of the saxophonist’s European appearances with keyboardist Chick Corea’s band, though they disagreed on the exact location (Marienthal says London, Kennedy says Madrid). When staff at the Orange County Philharmonic Society, which brought Kennedy to the Center, was asked to suggest a spot for an after-concert appearance, they thought of the Studio Cafe.

Dressed down for the occasion and minus the pale scarf he brandished on stage in Segerstrom Hall, Kennedy used a wide variety of tonal colors and technical flash to wow a standing-room-only crowd that included a sprinkling of patrons in evening wear as well as the more casually dressed.

He began Herbie Hancock’s “Maiden Voyage” almost tentatively, stating the melody in unison with Marienthal’s alto. Kennedy contrasted the saxophonist’s bop runs and R & B shouts by playing to the tune’s minor-key feel. He threaded long, lightning-fast lines among dissonant chords that sounded as if they were pulled from the Berg Concerto he’d performed a few hours earlier.

Keyboardist Dave Witham provided a lush backdrop for Kennedy’s thoughtful introduction to John Coltrane’s “Naima.” The violinist, varying pressure on his strings, developed light, airy passages that he smeared with the help of an electronic delay. This tonal play was complemented by a strong solo from bassist Isla Eckinger, whose resonant, lower-range notes anchored brief, melodic lines and stirring brush work from drummer Paul Kreibich.

Marienthal injected soul reminiscent of Cannonball Adderley into a fast-paced “All Blues,” working off steam in the upper reaches of his instrument’s range while Kennedy added percussive taps on his strings. The violinist took off during his own solo, packing it with hot-footed runs, screeching chords and high-pitched excitement. With the rhythm section silent, the two men took a long, rolling exchange that built like a wave before crashing in a sea of cacophony.

Kennedy can be slighted only for doing too much. At times, his busy improvisations tended to be more a showcase of his skills and less a narrative whole. Give Kennedy credit for going from Bach, which he played at the Center as an encore to the Berg, to Miles Davis in the space of one night. He doesn’t ask Beethoven to roll over--just to make room.