JAZZ REVIEW : Double the Pleasure of a Fine Pianist : Cecilia Coleman finds two modes of expression, as a featured soloist in a duo and as an accompanist for vocalist Shelly Moore.

The types of proving grounds for jazz musicians are as numerous as musicians themselves. One of the least likely of these venues is the Bay Colony, a chummy-looking dining-and-tippling establishment tucked into an out-of-the-way corner of the county and done up with dark wood and high ceilings, a fireplace, black-vinyl booths, shelves decorated with knickknacks and a leaping swordfish mounted over the front door.

Since July, Cecilia Coleman has been doing two shows at the Bay Colony on Sunday evenings. The long-running engagement offers a view into two sides of the keyboardist’s craft, as featured soloist in a piano-bass duo during the first half of a set and as an accompanist for vocalist Shelly Moore (who’s also here on Fridays and Saturdays backed by pianist Les Czimber).

Coleman, one of the most serious and dedicated pianists on the Southern California scene, makes frequent appearances in Los Angeles and Orange County as a member of Dan St. Marseille’s combo as well as the leader of her own trios and, more recently, her quintet with trumpeter Steve Huffsteter and saxophonist Andy Suzuki. She received the Los Angeles Jazz Society’s Shelly Manne New Talent Award in 1990, and last year L.A.P. Records released her first CD, “Words of Wisdom.”

On Sunday, Coleman worked the Bay Colony with Benjamin May, a bassist who makes frequent appearances at the Loew’s Hotel in Santa Monica, including a regular Monday night gig in which he puts the upright aside and plays solo piano. Their half of the set was an ably performed, if not perfect, program of standards that highlighted not only the musicians’ skills but the give-and-take relationship that makes the best duo performances succeed.

The duo kicked off with a trio of tunes, beginning with a moody rendition of “Nature Boy” that featured Coleman’s lightly stated theme and a solo built on a series of ascending lines. The pianist isn’t one out to grab attention with chordal pounding and dynamic sweeps. Instead, she pushes the music insistently forward with a gentle touch, a technique used to advantage by the late, great Bill Evans. There’s nothing rushed or frantic about her approach as she strings together short, lyrical phrases that seem to build off one another.

May, working unamplified, complemented this style with firm, though reserved accompaniment and a fleet walk that was especially astute during “Young and Foolish.” Often, he would pick up the bow for his solo work, as he did on “Celia,” letting the sustained, woody tones hum across the accompaniment that Coleman established behind him.

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While Coleman’s lead work had much of a vocal quality, her playing in support of Moore was more exploratory, offering chordal tracking behind the voice while filling in the spaces with asides and punctuation that sprung from the melody.

On a ballad-paced “I Thought About You,” Coleman seemed to leap into her solo as Moore finished the verse, taking the singer’s last line and crafting it into her own.

Moore continues to be one of the more satisfying vocalists appearing in the area, rhythmically playful while changing the color of her tone in response to the lyric’s meaning. Though she was working with a cold, she managed to recall some of Billie Holiday’s tonal roughness during “I Thought About You,” and her playful, often coy delivery during “Black Coffee” carried some Thespian touches.

Moore’s intimacy with an audience is tailor-made for the clubby feel of a room like that at the Bay Colony. And, in Coleman, she has found an able accompanist for her warm and varied style.

* Cecilia Coleman performs two shows beginning at 6 p.m. every Sunday at the Bay Colony restaurant, 115 N. Harbor Blvd., La Habra. (714) 525-8288. No cover.