Crowd Knows How to Get Best From Bluesman Bailey

Between shows Thursday at Twin Palms, blues guitarist-vocalist Ray Bailey told a reporter how he’d planned to “just play some jazz” during his first set, then jump into blues later in the night.

“But people just kept coming up and asking, ‘When you going to play some blues, man?’ ” he explained. So Bailey, after a couple of instrumental numbers from Thelonious Monk and Oliver Nelson, went right to the hard stuff.

Smart move.

The crowd rules at Twin Palms, and not giving the packed house what it wants invites being drowned out by restaurant and bar noise. The night’s opening band, the excellent L.A. Jazz Quartet, experienced such a consequence. Its last numbers could barely be heard just a few tables from the stage, let alone at the venue’s main bar.

But Bailey jumped into Louis Jordan’s good-time swinger “Caldonia,” and suddenly people were crowding forward to dance and make merry near the band. Their response seemed to power Bailey, who’d already shown exceptional musical talent, to even greater heights.

Bailey, the L.A. resident who began to make a mark on the blues world in 1995 with the release of his album “Satan’s Horn” (Zoo) and a summer tour of blues festivals in the U.S. and Canada (as well as appearances in Paris and Berne, Switzerland), deserves all the attention he gets. He’s a nimble guitar player who knows how to decorate a driving rhythmic base with clever, well-cut lines. His singing voice recalls Robert Cray, but he doesn’t exploit the similarities.

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Backed by keyboardist Mikal Majeed, who supplied the trio’s bass lines from the keys, and drummer Randell Goldberg, Bailey opened with the familiar up-and-down theme of Monk’s “Blue Monk,” forging R&B-styled; chordal phrases that stepped quickly over the quirky theme. At one point, he inserted an off-kilter, descending line that was classic Monk style.

The lack of response at the close of the number prompted Bailey to lean into his mike and ask, “Any jazz fans in the house tonight? Any fans at all?” The mid-tempo swing of “Sugar” gave way to another driving beat that Bailey filled with short, snappy phrases that recalled B.B. King, and a buzzy riff that swarmed over Goldberg’s smooth, insistent percussion. Still, the audience didn’t seem to notice.

But the familiar blues changes of “Caldonia” set the house on fire. From there, Bailey moved into Bobby Bland’s “Further up the Road,” which inspired another long, detailed improvisation from the guitarist. That tune was followed by Stevie Ray Vaughn’s “Texas Flood.”

It was this last number that best displayed Bailey’s attack. Mustering the same kind of spitfire lines and chordal play that the late Vaughn was noted for, Bailey constructed a story line full of harmonic twists and turns. Sizzling, single-note riffs were accented with sharp chordal passages. The volume of Bailey’s play surged and ebbed as the guitarist sought progressively higher peaks.

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The fact that keyboardist Majeed was nearly inaudible in the mix detracted little from the performance. Bailey’s accompaniment to Majeed’s almost invisible solos stood by itself with its drive and shifting interest. The guitarist could have easily appeared without the keyboardist, backed only by Goldberg’s potent rhythmic delivery.

Bailey is a bluesman worth seeking out, though better in a venue where patrons show more attention and respect for the music. But if you’re looking for a great party, his appearance at Twin Palms is just the ticket.

* Ray Bailey plays tonight at Twin Palms, 630 Newport Center Drive, Newport Beach. 10 p.m. to 1 a.m. No cover. (714) 721-8288.