JAZZ REVIEW : Solid Artistry Gives Festival Finale a Boost

Anyone looking for a primer in the art of running a jazz festival would have been wise to have studied what happened between 2 and 9:30 p.m. Sunday at Pasadena’s Ambassador Auditorium.

Consider these ingredients:

One comfortable indoor venue; an outdoor mall and park area where, after each set, the audience could find food stands and bars and relax under a nearby tree; five musical groups, each representing a valid aspect of non-fusion jazz today.

Pianist Eliane Elias, whose trio opened, is now a mature artist whose solos, whether original or drawn from her Brazilian origins, can move seamlessly from gentle and graceful to pulsating and powerful. Only on her unaccompanied piece, a vague collection of songs from her homeland, did the interest sag.

Miami-based trumpeter Arturo Sandoval, backed by tenor sax and rhythm, astonished an audience not ready for his stratospheric excursions. A protege of Dizzy Gillespie, whom he met in 1977 in his native Havana, Sandoval worked mainly with material related to the late trumpeter Clifford Brown, whose widow was in the audience.

Although the set was mainly a showcase for his trumpet virtuosity, the two tunes that hit closest to the heart were his own “I Left This Space for You,” which he played evocatively on piano, and Benny Golson’s “I Remember Clifford,” played poignantly on the fluegelhorn.

Is there any pianist who can outdo Gene Harris in hitting and sustaining a blues groove? No name comes to mind. His set, with the brilliant guitarist Ron Eschete, bassist Luther Hughes and drummer Paul Humphrey, was a masterpiece, whether it dealt with some blues variation, a pop song (“This Masquerade”) or a bossa nova.

Harris next raised the grand old flag of gospel, and within two minutes of “This Little Light of Mine” had turned the Ambassador into a sanctified church. He earned the day’s only standing ovation.

The crowd then took to the great outdoors, where a band known as Swing Savant played Orange County type music--”Tiger Rag” and all that jazz. It was pleasant and innocuous, although the introduction of one member as a “magnificent banjo player” sounded like an oxymoron.

The final set was failure-proof. One only need mention the names. Vibist Milt Jackson had the best bassist and drummer of the day (John Clayton and Tootie Heath), Art Hillary’s fleet piano, and two swinging veterans, Sweets Edison on trumpet and Teddy Edwards on tenor sax. The audience left in high spirits as emcee Chuck Miles assured us there will be another festival next year.