JAZZ REVIEW : Newsom Lets Sax Do Talking

Since becoming the assistant musical director of “The Tonight Show,” Tommy Newsom has gained a reputation as a man of few words. The low-key saxophonist stayed true to form Sunday afternoon at Maxwell’s by the Sea as he and valve trombonist Bob Enevoldsen joined bassist Jim DeJulio’s trio for an afternoon jam.

That’s not to say that Newsom remained completely unspoken during the three-set appearance. At one point, after a particularly impressive solo from keyboardist Wally Minko, Newsom was heard to jokingly scold, “One more outburst like that from you . . . “

But for most of the three-set program, Newsom let his tenor do the talking in the kind of program of familiar, relaxed material tailor-made for a cloudy weekend day. The tunes were just what you’d expect in this informal setting--”All the Things You Are,” “Just Friends,” “Take the ‘A’ Train”--and Newsom and company got cozy with each one, putting in just enough twists and rhythmic changes to keep these familiar numbers from sounding stale.

The quintet’s treatment of “There Will Never Be Another You” was typical. Enevoldsen stated the lead, with Newsom tailing behind, adding color with his harmonic blends. The saxophonist soloed with an unhurried, Dexter Gordon-like authority, quoting freely from other tunes, injecting a quick run here or repeating a figure for emphasis there, while Enevoldsen added the occasional tone from his seat behind Newsom.

Drummer Jimmy DeJulio (the bassist’s son) kicked into double time during pianist Minko’s solo, then worked some Latin flavor into the number before taking a series of Gene Krupa-inspired licks. The tune closed with a solid, brassy blend on the theme from Enevoldsen and Newsom.

Enevoldsen took the lead on an almost ballad-paced rendition of “It Don’t Mean a Thing (If It Ain’t Got That Swing),” the familiar melody almost unrecognizable at this deliberate tempo. The trombonist, who developed a rough, sometimes blustery tone, brought a serrated edginess to the piece, while Newsom took bluesy inspiration from “Georgia on My Mind” during his solo.

Newsom played it straight on “It Might as Well Be Spring,” putting few embellishments to the theme, while Enevoldsen used the tune to explore the more mellow side of his instrument. The saxophonist’s well-known wit was apparent during “On Green Dolphin Street” as he worked in bits of “Mona Lisa,” then closed with a quote from Ellington’s “Rockin’ in Rhythm.”

Still, the afternoon’s best solos came from Minko, best known for a long association with violinist Jean-Luc Ponty. The keyboardist developed chord-rich passages that built in speed and intensity before giving way to strings of melodic lines. His rhythmic variations, some of them spurred by bassist DeJulio, went a long way to keep these standards from sounding tiresome.

As always, the bassist built a strong, accompanying walk and insistent improvisations that he decorated with double-stops and sliding tones. The younger DeJulio, despite his connections to the rock and new-music scenes as a member of the group Christine in the Attic, plays right out of the swing tradition with a rattling snare attack and strong cymbal and tom-tom emphasis. Add that to Minko’s Ponty connections and Enevoldsen’s days with Shorty Rogers and Marty Paich as a Lighthouse All Star in the 1950s, this was a quintet that truly spanned the generations.