JAZZ REVIEW : McPherson Stretches Parker

Clint Eastwood’s film about Charlie Parker, “Bird,” was a convincingly dark and elemental portrayal of the brilliant jazz legend. But Parker’s music had brighter, more optimistic aspects as well, and their spirit lives on in the playing of San Diego-based alto saxophonist Charles McPherson.

Working in the Bel Age Hotel’s elegant Club Brasserie on Friday, with its sparkling view of downtown Los Angeles providing dramatic visual counterpoint to his soaring improvisations, McPherson was at the top of his form. He kicked off the set with a sweet-toned tour through the blues changes of Parker’s classic “Billy’s Bounce.” Continuing with Parker-related pieces, he explored the demanding harmonics of “The Song Is You” and the brutal convolutions of “Cherokee.”

But it was on a slow blues--clearly inspired by Parker’s “K.C. Blues”--that McPherson reminded his listeners that his affection for Parker in no way inhibits his own creativity. His extended solo bristled with double- and quadruple-time melodic fragments, passionate, gospel-tinged phrases and wild, almost avant-garde note flurries. It was a remarkable demonstration of how McPherson retains the values of tradition while stretching the outer envelope of his skills.

He was superbly accompanied by pianist Alan Broadbent, bassist Jeff Littleton and his son, Charles E. McPherson, on drums.