JAZZ REVIEW : Candoli Brothers’ Music Is Sheer Energy

The Candoli brothers made at least one new convert to jazz Friday night at the Hyatt Newporter.

And he was a young one, at that--probably no more than 5, with his hair cut in a mop that would have made Paul McCartney proud. But when the trumpet-playing Candolis dug into “Caravan,” it was bop, not rock, that got to the little guy. Dancing across the Newporter’s lush green hillside, shadow-playing drums and horns as he pranced in time, he was vivid testimony to the vitality of live jazz.

His reaction, while obviously spontaneous, wasn’t all that unexpected, though, given the energy of the Candolis’ music. After decades of working together in every imaginable kind of venue, Pete and Conte are not the Baker Boys. They know, and appear to agree on, exactly how to put together an effective program.

Friday’s was a happy balance of improvisation, careful structure, and easy, entertainment-oriented interaction with the audience. Add the support of a superb rhythm section--Ross Tompkins on piano, Andy Simpkins on bass and Roy McCurdy on drums--and the menu was irresistible.

Although Conte is the better-regarded improviser of the two, Pete frequently matched his younger brother’s high-flying lines. During an original appropriately titled “Echo,” for example, the two tossed phrases back and forth, triggering and stimulating each other’s considerable abilities.

In the many bebop standards and blues that peppered the set, the differences in their styles began to surface. Conte’s solos were linear excursions across the chord changes, and often he would reach for ideas that he couldn’t quite manage to bring to fruition. Pete was a more jovial, entertaining performer, ripping off melodies rich with riffs and little epigrammatic phrases. Stretching neither as high nor as far as Conte, Pete was the perfect foil for his brother’s creative flights of fancy.

They hardly could have asked for more from their accompanists. In his few solo moments--especially during a Disney medley of “When You Wish Upon a Star” and “Someday My Prince Will Come”--Tompkins was, as always, impeccable. His almost unrivaled ability to create instant, structured and poised compositions out of each improvisation was marvelous. Surely, he is one of the Southland’s jazz wonders, and too-infrequently recognized as such.

Simpkins and McCurdy were no less impressive, both as a team and individually. Simpkins’ work on “Lover Man” and McCurdy’s explosive rendering of “Caravan” were small but potent illustrations of their expansive skills.

Put it all together, and it was no surprise that a small boy was so inspired to spend a warm summer night dancing.