JAZZ REVIEW : MacDonald: Subtle but Never Dull

“Easy listening.” The phrase connotes sleep-inducing pop, trumpets and pianos backed by sappy strings that are, in fact, hard to aurally digest.

Jazz, however, can offer a higher quality of non-agitated sounds that have proved quite appealing. Examples include works by guitarists Johnny Smith and Wes Montgomery, who in the 1950s and ‘60s placed their dulcet, rich tones and smooth rhythmic styles in front of orchestras to great effect.

Guitarist Doug MacDonald takes the same sort of listener-friendly approach with his nine-piece brass band, which made its fourth appearance Saturday at Kikuya. The presentation recalled some of the better non-jarring units of the ‘50s--George Shearing’s quintet, the Modern Jazz Quartet--which ranked sonority and subtlety far ahead of ground-breaking invention and insistent rhythmic whammy.

Which is not to say that MacDonald’s nonet was dull Saturday--far from it--or that it didn’t swing--it did, albeit in a quietly driving way. The band evokes another era, in which the values of melody and rich ensemble passages often were of primary concern.

In the brass quintet Saturday were Carl Saunders and Buddy Childers (trumpets and fluegelhorns), Stew Undem (trombone), Stephanie Mijanovich (French horn) and Les Benedict (tuba and euphonium)--a combination that utilized high, bright trumpet tones with lower, fatter notes from the others. The result was a complex, colorful panorama of sound, in which all the angular edges you might expect from a larger group had been sanded smooth.

The five were complemented deftly by the vibrant rhythm team of MacDonald, Jim Dykes (piano), Jack Prather (bass) and Nick Martines (drums). The way these two sections moved back and forth, playing both leader and follower, made for an enjoyable, rewarding experience.

The arrangements, by MacDonald, Childers and Dykes, distributed the focus. Some tunes, such as the guitarist’s “N.B. Blues” or the standard “Time on My Hands,” began with the leader offering the melody, backed only by the rhythm section; the horns entered en masse in later choruses. On other numbers, such as Dizzy Gillespie’s “Ray’s Idea” and Childers’ “Honeysuckle Sam,” the brass players introduced the tune’s line.

On some numbers, the horns came in in twos and threes, or merged with the rhythm, as during Thelonious Monk’s blues “Straight, No Chaser,” where Martines’ drums opened for a chorus, then were joined by tuba, French horn, guitar and bass and finally by the full ensemble.

MacDonald, a mainstream guitarist with feet in both the swing and the be-bop camps, has a style that’s ideal for this group. He played with a warm, glorious tone that never overwhelmed, and he picked out his phrases at a moderate, assured pace. His solos were built on time-tested notions--hitting one note a few times to achieve rhythmic emphasis, creating lines that rise and fall easily, dropping in the judiciously chosen double time burst--all tied together seamlessly.

Most of the others soloed with grace and panache. Fluegelhorn player Saunders dazzled with his improvisational fecundity and would always surprise a listener as he went from a whirling set of soft tones to a blazing, lone high note a la Gillespie. Childers’ sweet expressions recalled the lyrical flow of Clark Terry, while Undem and Benedict revealed both facility and imagination.

* Doug MacDonald’s nine-piece ensemble returns to Kikuya, 8052 Adams Ave., Huntington Beach, on Saturday, March 25. (714) 536-6665.