A Now-and-Then Trio Has Consistent Rewards

“Semi-marquee name.”

That’s the off-the-cuff term that pianist James Williams uses to describe his position in the jazz pantheon.

The phrase is pretty much on the money. Williams is none of the following: a major headliner, like trumpeter Wynton Marsalis; an as-yet-undiscovered youngster, like the excellent Los Angeles pianist Cecilia Coleman; or an underemployed but talented veteran, someone like pianist Frank Strazzeri.

No, Williams is one of numerous acoustic straight-ahead artists--many in their 40s and 50s--whose playing places them in the upper echelon of jazz. He’s a crafty pianist with a cappuccino sound--dark, creamy, weighty, flavorful--whose performances comprise equal portions of power, poise and panache.

Listen to 1988’s “Magical Trio 2” (EmArcy), where Williams resides comfortably in the esteemed company of bassist Ray Brown and drummer Elvin Jones, convivially knocking out selections that range from exhilarating up-tempo bop to get-up-and-dance slow, grinding funk and a heartfelt ballad or two.

Still, the pianist, like scores of his equally adept conferees, has yet to attract a level of public attention equal to his ability and stature in the jazz community.

Does the lack of recognition bother the Memphis-born Williams, 43, who appears Wednesday through March 21 with guitarist Kevin Eubanks and bassist John Clayton at Catalina Bar & Grill? Not really. Since he left Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers after a five-year hitch in 1981, the consistently creative pianist has been one of the busiest players in jazz.

Williams used to spend most of his time touring with other artists, among them vibist Milt Jackson, trumpeter Art Farmer and drummer Jones. These days, the man gets to work mostly under his own banner.

“Seventy-five percent of the things I do are my own,” said Williams by phone from his home in Brooklyn.

Typical of the contexts that Williams devises for himself that are artistically interesting, musically challenging and just plain fun is the trio that he brings to Catalina’s this week.

The relationship between Williams and Eubanks is the central cog in this now-and-then ensemble.

The pianist has long been a fan of Eubanks’ guitar work. He had known the musician--who is now a late-night TV fixture as a part of Branford Marsalis’ “Tonight Show” band--since the late ‘70s, when the pianist was a teacher at the Berklee College of Music in Boston and the guitarist was a student. Later, they appeared together in a big band that Blakey put together in the early ‘80s. A few years later, the guitarist was a member of Williams’ distinguished Progress Report sextet.

“Kevin and I try to get together to play two or three times a year,” Williams said. “Two years ago we formed a quartet at Bradley’s in New York, and then last April, we did a trio with John Clayton. That was a fresh look, to do a trio without drums.”

The band proved to be rewarding on many levels, said Williams, citing in particular the interplay between musicians who hadn’t performed together as a unit. “It felt good. John affected Kevin, and they both affected me,” he said. “They didn’t know each other prior to that engagement, so that added a certain extra something, an electric energy. And we got a lot of different sounds, John playing with the bow, Kevin’s sense of dynamics. We were playing with a pure jazz spirit.”

What can listeners expect this time around? Definitely not completely worked-out, airtight performances.

“We’d like to walk on the edge, be daring with our playing,” he said, adding that the band will go far beyond a basic mainstream jazz repertoire. “We’ll be rehearsed, but not too rehearsed, so that the music sounds spontaneous, because it will be spontaneous to us. For example, maybe I’ll just start something and turn to them and say, ‘I hope you all know this.’ Or say to Kevin, ‘Surprise me.’ ”

Catalina Popescu, owner of Catalina Bar & Grill, is looking forward to the engagement by Williams’ trio. “James is very musical, and this trio, it’s not the usual thing, not what you hear all the time, so I think they will come up with some great music,” she said.

On Williams’ latest recording, “James Williams Meets the Saxophone Masters” (DIW/Columbia), he’s in the company of noted tenor saxophonists Joe Henderson, George Coleman and Billy Pierce. The pianist approached this project with the same keen sense of play and curiosity that marks the Eubanks-Clayton threesome.

“This was my sort of jazz enthusiast side, wondering what would happen if you got ‘so and so’ together,” Williams said.

Other projects on Williams’ front burner include a tour of Japan with Ron Carter’s quartet, playing in Europe in the summer with drummer Ed Thigpen’s band and organizing a sextet that includes two singers.

It’s that spirit of satisfaction that keeps Williams, big name or no, happy. “I feel good,” he said. “I can go out and work and keep things going.”

James Williams, with Kevin Eubanks and John Clayton, plays at 9 and 11 p.m. Wednesday through next Sunday at Catalina Bar & Grill, 1640 N. Cahuenga Blvd., Hollywood. $12-$15 cover, two-drink minimum. Call (213) 466-2210.