JAZZ REVIEW : Stars Add Spice, Spirit to Livelier Second Day of Playboy Festival

Day Two of the sold-out Playboy Jazz Festival at the Hollywood Bowl was a distinct improvement over the opening session.

Unlike the less star-oriented programming of Day One, Sunday’s activities yielded name power, ranging from mainstream acts such as the all-star-laden New York Jazz Giants, the Manhattan Transfer and the Count Basie Orchestra to the contemporary sounds of Randy Brecker and Grover Washington Jr., with a few dashes of spice provided by the Preservation Hall Jazz Band and Mario Bauza’s big Afro-Cuban Jazz Ensemble.

And, finally, after the first festival day with no females, this show featured singers Diane Schuur, Cheryl Bentyne and Janis Siegel. Sadly, the sole female instrumentalists were a few young women in the Hemet High School unit. One can only marvel at the programming “brilliance” that overlooked such local talents as Vi Redd, Stacy Rowles and Maiden Voyage in favor of--on Day One--male imports.

The high points of the festival, hosted by Bill Cosby, came not with this group or that, but with individual performances and individual numbers.

One of the most electric moments occurred early in the afternoon, well before the Bowl had reached its sold-out capacity. Ironically, it came with the arrival of T. S. Monk, perhaps the least-known act with the best-known name. Drummer Monk, the group’s leader and Thelonious Monk’s son, led a band that charged through its program of straight-ahead pieces with a startling degree of creative energy. Alto saxophonist Bob Porcelli played as well as anyone in the festival, and Monk has the makings of a world-class drummer.

Other individually memorable moments included 91-year-old Preservation Hall clarinetist Willie Humphrey’s spirited vocal on “Down on Bourbon Street,” the Bauza ensemble’s vivid re-creation of Dizzy Gillespie’s Afro-Cuban sounds of the late ‘40s and the youthful Hemet Jazz Ensemble’s demonstration of the continuing persistence of big-band jazz.

The Brecker group was dominated by its leader’s fine trumpet work (the best he’s done in years), as well as by Bill Evans’ elegantly aggressive saxophone playing. On pieces like “Little Miss P,” Brecker indicated that he has found an aesthetic home in an articulate extension of Miles Davis’ late funk/jazz style.

First-rate trumpet performances also highlighted the Jazz Giants, with Jon Faddis and Tom Harrell engaging in a series of stratospheric high-note duels. Saxophonists Lew Tabackin and Bobby Watson added their own top-drawer solos, with Watson doing a lovely Johnny Hodges simulation on “Daydream.”

Washington’s set was the big crowd-pleaser of the day. Making the most of a medley of his many night-music hits, the saxophonist played with the combination of vigor and accessibility that have made him such an effective crossover act. More unexpected was his addition of a spirited reading of “Take Five.”

The Basie Orchestra, directed by Frank Foster, played a set of affable chestnuts, including the hard-driving “Whirly Bird,” but, as on Day One, audio engineering carelessness reared its ugly head, largely destroying the sound of the vital and carefully balanced precision of the rhythm section.

Schuur, performing with the Basie group, fell back on some bad habits, pushing far too hard on her high notes. Her collection of jazz-associated numbers--”How High the Moon,” “Sweet Georgia Brown,” etc.--despite some attempts at scat singing, failed to add any particular jazz authenticity to her work.

In contrast, the Manhattan Transfer, by emphasizing the jazz aspects of their music, sounded reinvigorated, more alive than they have in recent non-festival performances. The quartet refused to be daunted by a sound problem on the complex “I Remember Clifford,” and Siegel once again used her soloing on the classic “Birdland” to confirm her generally under-recognized excellence as a jazz singer.

The festival sold all its tickets--17,979--for the second straight day.