JAZZ REVIEW : There’s No Buddy Like Nonnis : The drummer, leading his 15-piece ensemble at a Huntington Beach show, isn’t Rich. And he isn’t trying to be.

Ever since drummer Paolo Nonnis agreed to lead a Buddy Rich tribute band in 1989, he’s been saddled with unfair comparisons to the late trapsman, whether he’s honoring Rich or not.

Wednesday at El Matador, Nonnis appeared on his own terms, leading his 15-piece, brass-heavy ensemble in a program of tunes pulled from his 1991 release “Just in Time.” Though some comparisons with Rich’s ensembles came to mind during the evening’s first set, the conclusion was that Nonnis is no Buddy Rich, nor does he pretend to be.

Like Rich’s later groups, the Nonnis big band favors driving, sometimes reckless arrangements of standards with splashy horn-section passages and plenty of space for featured soloists. But comparisons should end there. Nonnis himself is more of a team player than Rich was, providing insistent, to-the-beat rhythmic pacing without gratuitous flash or technical displays. The spotlight here definitely was on the band, not just its drummer.

This is an ensemble with a lot of personality, due to the bold arrangements chosen by its leader and its wealth of fine soloists. Varying improvisational styles from tenor saxophonist Louis Taylor, alto saxophonist Kim Richmond (who brings his 22-piece Concert Jazz Orchestra to El Matador next Wednesday), trumpeter Clay Jenkins, trombonist Alan Kaplan and baritone saxophonist Mike Nelson added character to material that was written to have plenty.

A good example was the Ellington workout “Rockin’ in Rhythm.” As arranged by Bill Cunliffe, a Los Angeles resident who won the first Thelonious Monk Piano Competition a few years back, the tune hid from itself behind a minor-key riff before the four-man trumpet section broke out to state the theme. After bassist Nils Johnson’s thumb-heavy electric solo, which included references to Jimi Hendrix’s “Purple Haze,” saxophonist Taylor, this time on soprano, began a racy exposition while the rest of the horns provided responsive emphasis. Keyboardist Brian O’Rourke soloed with a minuet-like figure from his left hand while sounding “Fascinating Rhythm” with his right.

Along with similarly spirited arrangements of such familiar songs as “Angel Eyes,” “Up Jumped Spring” and “Just in Time,” the band strolled through a swinging Cunliffe arrangement of the Lennon-McCartney tune “Can’t Buy Me Love.” Don Menza’s arrangement of “Samba De Rollins” featured Taylor’s strong, Coltrane-flavored tenor solo.

And through it all, Nonnis concentrated on providing beat without undue embellishment. His solo on “Samba De Rollins” was an exploration of color as he developed jungle rhythms on his tom-toms before closing out with some Gene Krupa-inspired rattle. He worked the cymbals with his brushes during “Angel Eyes” while Taylor applied mellow tenor tones to its theme. No, you’d never confuse Paolo Nonnis’ sound with that of Buddy Rich. And that’s just the way the bandleader wants it.