Petrucciani Finds Renewal in Solo Life

Michel Petrucciani, like many of us, has a short attention span.

“I get bored--with people, with things, with myself, with music,” said the 30-year-old pianist in a phone call from a tour stop in Edinburgh.

Petrucciani is constantly seeking fresh approaches to music to keep ennui from the door. Petrucciani says he’s recently discovered a direction that’s invigorating: performing unaccompanied.

“It’s amazing. I feel great. It’s like I’m discovering music again, discovering the piano again,” said Petrucciani, a native of France who now lives in Manhattan. “I’m reconsidering my concept.”

Petrucciani has performed unaccompanied since he arrived on the jazz scene in 1979, and in the early ‘80s he recorded two solo albums: “100 Hearts” on Concord Jazz and “Date With Time” on Owl. But it wasn’t until recently that he felt comfortable with the style.

“I did a few one-shot albums, some one-nighter concerts. It was scary. I’d wonder, ‘Am I really capable of doing this?’ ” said the artist who is noted for his penetrating sound and for his bracing sense of lyricism.

Last year, he made a decision to record an album of Duke Ellington material without accompaniment, and the solo process again opened up for him. The album, “Promenade With Duke,” due out this month on Blue Note, turned out to be a thoroughly enjoyable experience.

“I’m very happy with it. It’s one of the few records that came out exactly as I wanted it to,” he said. The pianist followed up the recording session with a string of solo concerts in Europe, which have also proved to be immensely rewarding. “It’s a pure way of communicating with the people. There’s no interference, just you and the piano and the people.”

Petrucciani plans to keep performing both unaccompanied and with his trio, which he brings into Catalina Bar & Grill on Tuesday for a five-night stand.

“Playing solo is like a vacation, but I eventually miss the interaction, the interplay between musicians, and I do that again,” he said.

The pianist, who is this week’s Critic’s Choice, will be working with bassist Michael Bowie and drummer Wilby Fletcher at Catalina. Petrucciani hasn’t yet decided whether he’ll play solo during his sets at the nightclub. “It depends on the audience, and how much they’re listening,” he said.

Big Bands Redux: Kim Richmond’s expressive Concert Jazz Orchestra will perform Tuesday as the second ensemble in the “Best of the Big Bands ‘93” Tuesday night series being held at the Moonlight Tango Cafe in Sherman Oaks. The series, which had been produced by singer Diane Varga for more than a year and had been put on hold when Varga died unexpectedly last December, has been reinstituted, with Lenetta Kidd, the Moonlight’s musical director, in charge.

Richmond, a commanding composer and arranger whose charts mix a hard-edged swing feel with crisp and intelligent writing, brings along first-rate jazz singer Julie Kelly. Other bands on the schedule: Med Flory, March 2; Pat Longo, March 9; Frank Capp, March 16; Guilherme Vergueiro, March 23; Roger Neumann , March 30. Information: (818) 788-2000.

Mardi Gras in L.A.: Squeaking in just before the Hollywood Palladium closes, Brazilian trumpeter Marcio Montarroyos and the Brazilian All Stars Carnaval Band headline a three-night Carnaval celebration, Sunday through Tuesday at the Palladium. Other bands are also on tap. Tickets are $15, but on Monday, entrance is just $5. Information: (213) 582-8107.

In the Racks: Reed artist Kenny Goldberg goes Brazilian with his flavorful “Tropical Winds” release, out now on Positive Music. The recording date spotlights seven original tunes by the leader, who plays saxes, flutes and more. . . . Justo Almario’s “Heritage” on Moo Records offers an enthusiastic Latin jazz approach to 11 originals. The players are equally top-drawer, among them keyboardist Otmaro Ruiz, percussionist Alex Acuna and bassist Abraham Laboriel.