JAZZ REVIEW : Capp’s Juggernaut Big Band a Delightful Summer Treat

Summer was in full blossom at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art on Sunday afternoon. Long lines of people awaited entry to the popular Gustave Caillebotte Urban Impressionist exhibition, and casually dressed crowds wandered through the other showings of painting, photography, fashion and textiles.

But for two hours in midafternoon, the centerpiece of activity was the performance by Frank Capp’s Juggernaut big band in the facility’s Times Mirror Central Court.

There’s never much doubt about what to expect when the Juggernaut performs, and Sunday was no exception. A fervent admirer of Count Basie, Capp has built his roaring congregation over a rhythm section--this time consisting of pianist Tom Rainer, bassist Chuck Berghofer and guitarist John Pisano--that steams forward with the urgent momentum of the classic Basie teams.

Capp further underscored the connection with a lineup of tunes largely drawn from his new album of compositions by longtime Basie arranger Neal Hefti. The result was basic, straight-ahead, hard-driving music as melodically engaging as it was rhythmically compelling. Capp’s band, despite its intermittent work schedule and occasionally shifting personnel, manages to come together with the intimate, ensemble drive that is usually apparent only in groups with far more continuous history with each other.

The concert’s most gripping moment, in fact, came about via a last-minute substitution. When tenor saxophonist Gary Herbig failed to show, Charles Owens, who was in the audience, was quickly enlisted to fill in. Kapp’s final number was a ripping, two tenor saxophone battle tune in which Owens and Ricky Woodard placed their impressive wares on display in a can-you-top-this exchange that brought the capacity crowd to its feet.

A free concert of swinging big-band sounds in a beautiful, outdoor venue on a warm summer afternoon--could a jazz fan ask for anything more? And the beat will go on in August and September with programs featuring groups led by Gerald Wilson, Bill Berry and Bill Holman.

* Summer Big Band Jazz at the Times Mirror Central Court of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 5905 Wilshire Blvd., (213) 857-6000. Free concerts. Aug . 6: Gerald Wilson Big Band. Aug . 20: Bill Berry and the L.A. Band. Sept . 3: Bill Holman Jazz Orchestra.