POP AND JAZZ REVIEWS : Golia Quintet Flows in Wind at LACMA

Windy conditions forced Vinny Golia’s quintet to break out the clothespins to keep their charts from blowing away at the County Museum of Art on Friday, but the supple, inventive music was in no danger of being gone with the wind. The L.A. reedman’s sparkling 75-minute performance incorporated everything from bedrock jazz swing to unusual textures that never interrupted the organic flow of the music.

Flow was the operative word--the five originals segued seamlessly into one another. But the ensemble never simply settled for a static, solos-over-rhythm-section approach--the moods and textures within the pieces shifted constantly yet the music never sounded forced.

Golia’s bass clarinet and Jon Fumo’s trumpet suddenly dropped in a brief passage to spur on guitarist Nels Cline’s solo--later they hit a couple of sustained low notes to complement bassist Joel Hamilton’s solo. Golia engaged Hamilton in a bass clarinet/bowed bass duet, joined halfway through by drummer Alex Cline using mallets.

Those were only a handful of the creative change-ups during a performance in which all five members excelled. Golia, who also played baritone and soprano sax and piccolo, has stripped his soloing down closer to the melodic core--the explosive flurries that once dominated his playing now serve as expressive embellishments.

Golia returns to the County Museum every Friday evening in April, with a different lineup featured each week.