JAZZ REVIEWS : Still Playing a Mean Piano : Joyce Collins Displays a Robust Touch in Appearance at Maxwell’s

In the ‘60s, Joyce Collins released an album called “Girl Here Plays Mean Piano.” The way she worked out on acoustic grand Sunday afternoon at Maxwell’s, that title is still valid.

Collins--who in her career has worked with the likes of Oscar Pettiford, Bob Cooper and has co-led a trio with pianist Dave MacKay and singer Bill Henderson--is an engaging performer. Displaying a robust touch that made her instrument sing, Collins leaned forward over the keyboard, then drew back, producing mostly focused, succulent improvisations during an 11-tune opening set.

The pieces ranged from Ornette Coleman’s “Turnaround” and Billy Strayhorn’s “Take the ‘A’ Train” to Jerome Kern’s “In Love in Vain” and her own “Sweet Madness,” the latter a bossa nova and the title of her latest CD.

Accompanied with elan by bassist Jim DeJulio and drummer Harold Mason, Collins dug in and gave these numbers lively airings that emphasized a high degree of musicality and a substantial swing feel.

“Turnaround,” a classic blues line by the acclaimed Coleman, revealed Collins’ feeling for this standard jazz form and her propensity for delivering richly voiced block chords. Here she employed all 10 fingers in offering sound clusters that were weighty and dark, yet were also effervescent as they floated through the room. She closed her set with another blues favorite, Harry Edison’s “Centerpiece,” and also included Miles Davis’ “All Blues” in her program.

A sprightly version of “Falling in Love with Love” found Collins knocking out garlands of crisp single-note lines. These she juxtaposed with smaller groups of notes that she played so fast they seemed like blurred blotches of paint on a canvas. Later, came another round of luxuriant block chords, from which she exited by playing more single-note passages.

After DeJulio’s bass solo, which highlighted his dexterity, the pianist dropped curving, dancing lines played in parallel octaves. She sparked several of her solos--the moody yet vibrant “Alone Together” was a good example--with this inventive device.

Collins also sang a few numbers in an attractive, throaty alto voice. “In Love in Vain” was done with emotion, as was the not-often-heard, “I Could Have Told You So.” The artist had a pleasing manner of ending her phrases with succinct vibratos, which gave a glow to her notes.

A run-through of Dave Frishberg’s humorous “My Attorney Bernie” was a little shaky, as Collins seemed to be reading both the music and the lyrics. Still, this hardly detracted from an otherwise solid show by yet one more Los Angeles-area jazz artist who should be heard from more often.