JAZZ : The Bold Sound of Michel Petrucciani

If you’ve ever heard pianist Michel Petrucciani in any of his Los Angeles appearances, from Hop Singh’s in the mid-’80s to Catalina Bar & Grill last year, chances are you remember the shimmering, impressive sound he draws from his instrument.

In pianistic circles, such a rich tone is referred to as “touch.” Petrucciani, the 30-year-old keyboard virtuoso who appears Saturday with his trio at the Playboy Jazz Festival at Hollywood Bowl, definitely has nice touch.

The classically trained Petrucciani has been an active jazzman half his life and has recorded frequently. He digs deep when he plays, striking the piano with authority, particularly in the lower register, where he initiates a resonant rumble that is a trademark of his bold, broad sound.

Naming McCoy Tyner, Keith Jarrett, Bill Evans and Bud Powell as primary influences, the French native of Italian extraction is not easily pigeonholed as a soloist. To put it simply, he likes a lot of stuff.

Petrucciani has obviously studied be-bop and can play with the fluency that the genre demands. But the musician, who first gained international recognition in 1982 as a member of saxophonist Charles Lloyd’s quartet, also embraces the free-for-all approach of spontaneous, no-holds-barred improvisation of, say, Ornette Coleman or Cecil Taylor, and will often dash off in whatever musical direction suits his fancy. Usually, he’ll liberally mix these modes within a given piece.

The pianist, whose latest Blue Note Records release is 1991’s “Playground,” likewise favors no single type of musical vehicle. He’s equally at home playing a classic pop standard, a pop-flavored original or a crackling blues. Tempos also pose no problem. He can be a hard-driving, hell-bent-for-leather practitioner one moment, then a lyrical, the-song-comes-first melodist the next.

Heard at a note-blurring quicksilver pace, Petrucciani’s playing is imbued with a sense of exhilaration and joy that speaks of the vitality of the life force and the power of creativity. Typical of this elan is “Mr. K. J.,” a rousing blues from 1988’s “Michel Plays Petrucciani” on Blue Note.

Slower numbers bring out a more luxuriant aspect, wafting, mellifluous lines showing Petrucciani to be tender, emotional, heartfelt. “ ‘Round Midnight,” recorded in 1981 and available on the just-released “Date With Time” on Owl Records, capture this side of the pianist.

He can also be funky. Check out “Memphis Green,” a Charles Lloyd blues on “Date With Time.”

As a child, Petrucciani suffered from osteogenesis imperfecta, a calcium deficiency in the bones. As a result, he is small--he stands about 3 feet and weighs 65 pounds.

But Petrucciani has a giant spirit that, coupled with his talent, has made him one of foremost traditional jazz artists of this or any day. At the Playboy Festival, where the program is heavily laden with jazz that accents the music’s more commercial aspects, Petrucciani stands as an example of the level to which art can climb and still remain accessible.