JAZZ REVIEWS : Saxophonist Cal Bennett Plays It Cool at Mucho Gusto

Cal Bennett doesn’t seem like the type to get ruffled, andthat’s the way he plays his music--confidently, and with an attitude.

Take the way the long, lean Los Angeles-based contemporary jazz saxophonist got his first show going Friday at Mucho Gusto. The performance, which kicked off a two-night stand at the club, was almost an hour late starting because the band was slow setting up and his drummer hadn’t arrived. But Bennett didn’t seem perturbed. He did acknowledge his tardiness with an announcement that the show would be “starting in 10 minutes” (it was more like 20), but otherwise he casually went about his pre-performance business.

When Bennett finally hooked up his alto saxophone to an amplifier and led his partners into an ambling, R&B;/funk groove, the hornman--who has been performing in Southern California for more than five years--came across as the essence of a cool customer. Wearing black pants, a black and dark blue print shirt and dark glasses, Bennett looked, and sounded, like he belonged in a ‘90s film noir nightclub scene. And his music--slow, moody, glistening--brought to mind images of a rain-wet street gleaming under a street lamp, or a couple making their way to an assignation.

The melody of this first, unannounced, number resembled others in the set, in that it was a mixture of catchy, soulful phrases--some of which were highly rhythmic and suitable for finger-popping--and phrases that were lyrical and sweet, though in the manner of pop rather than traditional jazz. But then Bennett is not a traditional jazz saxophonist; he’s a today artist who drew mostly on R&B; and funk stylings for his presentations.

On the opening number, Bennett, whose debut CD, “Local Hero,” has just been released on the Nova label, soloed at reasonable length. He concocted his improvisation from rhythmically punchy ideas that wavered between two notes, succinctly stated phrases that could have been spoken, squealing tones held five seconds or more, peals of notes, and a zippy four-note idea he furiously repeated 25 times in succession, so that the tones created a block of sound.

While this was going on, Bennett’s rhythm team--Toshi Yanagi on guitar, Jerome Academia on keyboard, bassist Rob McDonald, drummer Jeff Suttles and percussionist Dr. Como--bubbled contentedly under him, keeping him on course and livening the tune’s quietly percolating mood.

Academia, whose keyboard delivered a ringing, open sound that was more like a calliope than a Rhodes electric piano, offered a musical solo, shifting from one neatly constructed statement to another. It was not flashy, but it was satisfying. Then Yanagi, working with a Fender Telecaster, played a solo consisting mostly of thick, congealed tones that were sent forth with a pleasingly abrasive, distorted sound. This cloudy sound seemed like a series of variations on the color gray, and it rubbed against one’s ear like a plastic kitchen scrubber.

Bennett went on to offer five more tunes that embraced the sultry, listen-with-your-body-not-your-mind, rhythm’s-in-charge-here mood that he established from his group’s first downbeat. “Mr. Potatohead” had more of a jazz flavor than the others, with some melodic ideas recalling snippets of Wayne Shorter’s “Neffertiti.” Here the leader played soprano sax, achieving a warm, centered sound. Two of the selections, “A Stolen Moment” and “Local Hero,” were taken from his new CD, and they were listenable, if undistinguished.

The relaxed, moody atmosphere that Bennett’s music suggested elucidated a polarity of responses from the audience. Some patrons sat attentively throughout the entire set, and could be seen patting their feet and bobbing their heads. Others talked right through the show, never once acknowledging that there was a musician performing in their midst.