JAZZ REVIEW : Elliot Moves Crowd, but He’s Stuck in the Same Place

Richard Elliot has a winning formula. The animated, pop-fired saxophonist knows just what to do to rouse his audience to appreciative ovations.

That formula--accessible melodies, big but uncomplicated beats and an epic sense of drama--worked its magic at the Galaxy Concert Theatre on Thursday, moving the crowd to cheers and long stretches of hearty applause a number of times over the course of Elliot’s 90-minute performance. With these kind of results, who can blame the saxophonist for not taking any chances?

But a gamble or two was exactly what Elliot’s show needed. There was no sense of daring, no experimentation, no willingness to look deeper into a melody or its rhythmic base. Instead, Elliot made it easy on his audience, and himself, by prying only superficially into each number’s promise.

Make no mistake: Elliot is skilled at what he does. He showed himself a master of emotive sounds, able to give the simplest line extra weight with tonal variations (squeals, squawks and gruff overtones) while developing the kind of dramatic interest one expects from a B-grade action-adventure film. But there’s little sense of risk. Just like the movies, we know our hero will triumph in the end.

Working mainly from his new “After Dark” album, Elliot and his band came out under swirling smoke-machine cover and jumped right into the formula. Song after song followed the same course.

After stating the theme, Elliot would move into an improvisational section that developed slowly with individual notes, not phrases, taking the spotlight. Then, building through a series of dynamic stages, the solo would peak on a single, high, sustained tone, often played as a screech. There, the solo came to an abrupt end, dissolving back to the theme or picked up by another band mate.

This pattern was repeated on almost every tune, with a similar response from the crowd. You’ve got to hand it to the guy. He really knows how to milk an audience.

Even Elliot’s use of long, single tones--a frequent ploy--was predictable. Time and again, the note came first in direct, vibrato-less style, then began to wobble as the saxophonist’s wide vibrato set in.

Despite the similarities in his approach, Elliot should get credit for employing the formula over a range of material, from funk and backbeat numbers to Latin-influenced songs and ballads.

Tunes such as the slow-paced “Song for Her” and the Spanish-flavored “El Anio,” which opened with guitarist Richard Smith’s impressive flamenco lines, gave needed variety to the upbeat program.

Smith’s brief solo spots were the evening’s most electrifying moments, as he packed what little time he had with swirling lines and bent-note escapades. Bassist Naoki Yanai also was impressive, moving effortlessly through racehorse solo sections while pinning backbeat numbers with solid funk.

As usual, Elliot was at his most revealing when dealing with the familiar “Over the Rainbow” and Percy Sledge’s “When a Man Loves a Woman.” Here, his formula worked just fine, bringing soul and emotion to the familiar pieces as the saxophonist displayed a vocalist’s sensibilities. Somehow, these two tunes make everything else he does seem redundant.

Opening act Rain-bo Tribe took a more varied approach, mixing jazz, hip-hop, reggae and Latin influences into an attractive, short set. The quintet’s tune “Wayne’s World,” featuring trumpeter-keyboardist Michael Alan Henderson and saxophonist Lincoln Adler, began on a tough riff before moving into some swing for the brass. Their ill-conceived cover of the Isley Brothers’ “For the Love of You,” with bassist Rob McDonald’s vocal, ended a promising set on a sour note.