JAZZ REVIEW : Bandleader Florence Thinks on His Feet : Limited Edition’s Newporter Finale Provokes Toe-Tapping in Thoughtful Arrangements

Bob Florence is the thinking man’s bandleader. The performance of his 17-piece Limited Edition ensemble in the Jazz Pavilion at the Hyatt Newporter on Friday night demanded attention from both the mind and the body.

The Limited Edition’s two-hour set--which closed the Newporter’s popular Summer Big Band series--was an attractive mix of smooth ballads, rhythmic swing numbers and first-rate jazz improvisation. Many of the works were filled with enough complex harmonies and contrapuntal melodies to satisfy a musicologist’s doctoral thesis. But the technically intricate elements were always balanced with a plethora of riffs and rhythms to keep the feet dancing.

Among the better Florence originals were “Silky,” a lyrical ballad featuring Steve Huffstetter’s fluegelhorn accompanied by an arrangement built around a six-clarinet sound, a Lester Young-dedicated jump number humorously titled “Leicester Leaps In” and a meticulously crafted “Bebop Charlie.”

Florence’s orchestration skills were on full display with “Love for Sale,” featuring bassist Tom Warrington; “Come Rain Or Come Shine,” showcasing valve trombonist Bob Enevoldsen; “All the Things You Are,” with a lovely Florence piano solo, and, surprisingly, “Auld Lang Syne,” using Bob Efford’s baritone sax as the lead voice.

In each case, the familiar songs were only starting points--basic thematic material used by Florence as triggers for sometimes labyrinthine and far-afield sets of variations. His ingenious harmonic imagination transformed “Come Rain . . .” and “All The Things . . .” into virtually new compositions.

Among the numerous soloists, Huffstetter was in particularly fine form, playing with lush, romantic feeling on ballads and with driving, neo-bop high voltage on his up-tempo improvisations.

The two alto saxophonists, Lanny Morgan and Kim Richmond, recalled the style and manner of Charlie Parker in their brief moments in the spotlight, and drummer Steve Houghton not only soloed well, but he drove the large, potentially ponderous ensemble with a percussive touch that was both subtle and irrepressible.

Once again, however, the Newporter’s audio mix left something to be desired, especially for a group with a sound as thickly textured as that of Florence’s Limited Edition.

The hotel management clearly has a winner with this series and would do well to renew it next summer. If it does so, a more careful supervision of the audio--one that recognizes that a big swing band is not supposed to sound like a rock group--should be an early consideration.