JAZZ REVIEW : Pals Come to Play With Their Buddy

What do old friends do when they get together? The generally hash over old times, and that’s pretty much what happened Friday at the Hyatt Newporter. Saxophonist-flutist Buddy Collette brought in old friends Britt Woodman and Fred Katz to join his quartet as part of the hotel’s and KLON-FM’s Jazz Live at the Hyatt series.

Woodman, Collette’s pal since their teen-age days together in Los Angeles, is best known for a nine-year stint as lead trombonist for Duke Ellington’s band. Here, the trombonist was heard to recall those days on “Take the A-Train,” and “In a Mellotone.” Both were given straight-forward, traditional readings.

Cellist Katz, who met Collette when both joined drummer Chico Hamilton’s landmark quintet in 1955, predictably came up during the first set to play his signature tune from the Hamilton days, “My Funny Valentine.” But Katz’s aggressive, sometimes atonal, approach took the popular standard out of the ordinary, turning it into something at once disturbing and melancholy. This was one “Funny Valentine” that was no laughing matter.

The three friends, in the company of guitarist Al Viola, bassist Richard Simon and drummer Harold Mason, worked comfortably together, just what you’d expect from musicians with so much shared experience. Before Collette’s “Buddie Boo,” a tune dating to his Hamilton Quintet days, the saxophonist informed Woodman, “It’s just a little blues. You’ll get it.” And Woodman did, adding playful slides, high-pitched accents and slippery descents while Katz and Collette blended in accompanying riffs. This loose, jam-session feel permeated each of the evening’s sets.

Collette opened on flute, easily maneuvering the be-bop inspired lines of his “Magali” before going into a long exchange with Woodman as the rhythm section sat silent. After this empathetic demonstration, guitarist Viola chugged along on swinging, single-tone lines before beefing things up with strategically placed dissonant chords.

Woodman seemed most at home on “A-Train,” working gliding high-notes against lyrical lines and ending with a series of deeply pitched elephant calls. Simon, creating his usual stout tone, referenced “Down by the Riverside” as he soloed on the piece.

Of the six men, Katz was the troublemaker, taking things out of the traditional mold and recasting them with his own kinks. His plucked solo on “Buddie Boo” was filled with double-stops and unexpected phrasing that brought hoots and applause from the audience. When Simon began improvising with his bow, Katz provided counterpointed echoes from his cello.

“The Walker”--a tune Katz wrote about a mythical figure of the Brazilian rain forest--utilized a cool, two-tone bass line that allowed the cellist to reach deep into his bag of tricks. He finished his sometimes wild improvisation with sliding, air-raid siren wails followed by a single note saw.

Though the evening’s overall mood was one of nostalgia, two of Collette’s more recent tunes kept the concert from being totally stuck in the traditional bag. The saxophonist’s best work came on the modern-flavored “Veeda,” a tune Viola graced with squirming lines and assertive chordal patterns. “Andre,” an up-tempo exercise, featured involved snare and tom-tom exchanges from drummer Mason and solid, post-bop thinking from Viola.

The evening’s only drawback was that the sound of a large, nearby party on the Hyatt grounds sometimes interfered with the combo’s quieter moments. But even that coupled with the chilly temperature and possibility of rain hanging over the concert couldn’t dampen the enthusiasm of those in attendance.