JAZZ REVIEWS : Ray Brown Trio Bows at Catalina

Ray Brown, the peripatetic bassist, has another brand-new affiliation. At Catalina on Tuesday he introduced his latest trio, featuring the fast-rising pianist Benny Green.

Unlike Brown’s previous associate Gene Harris, Green is not primarily a blues master. He is, however, a musician of rare adaptability. One of his talents is the ability to spin out long improvisational lines with both hands running parallel, in octave unison. Few jazz pianists have mastered this technique. Green, though, does it with dazzling finesse. He also displayed his early jazz roots with a period-style workout on the Dixieland ditty “Jada,” which has been around since 1918.

Among his other approaches are working up a boppish head of steam in the Bud Powell tradition and using a special grandeur in his chord employment. Though his blues playing is not as profound as Harris’, he nevertheless is comfortable with the idiom, particularly when working in close collaboration with Brown.

Collaboration, in fact, is the key word in the success of this threesome, which is appearing through Sunday. Brown, Green and the outstanding drummer Jeff Hamilton have worked on enough special introductions, interludes between choruses and surprise endings to leave no doubt that this is an organized unit.

Some of the tunes--”Time After Time” and the blues--began with Brown playing brilliant unaccompanied solos. One number, “Take Me Out to the Ballgame,” was built around Hamilton’s deft use of the brushes. He is a sensitive and discreet artist who laces his work with touches of humor, a vital element in this admirably cohesive group--along with a high level of musicianship.