Sidemen Spur Lloyd to Greater Heights

As in chemistry, musical catalysts create a reaction that generate more heat, more light, more overall energy. That was the case Wednesday night at Catalina Bar & Grill when saxophonist Charles Lloyd, ignited by pianist Bobo Stenson and drummer Billy Hart, burned more brightly than during his last run here in December of 1994.

Those shows, his first Los Angeles club dates in perhaps 20 years, found Lloyd in the friendly company of pianist Cedar Walton, bassist David Williams and drummer Billy Higgins. Sparked by Higgins, Lloyd revealed a hot, impassioned side that’s not always apparent on his recordings.

But Lloyd seemed to reach higher emotional plateaus playing his own compositions with Stenson and Hart, both members of his regular recording band (Jeffrey Littleton replaced Swedish bassist Anders Jormin). Likewise the pianist and the drummer, stirred by the impassioned play of their leader, made equally moving contributions.

Again Lloyd showed his fire, bobbing up and down as he accelerated through revolving lines or cried out in the upper register. But having bandmates familiar with his material also gave him a chance to display his reflective side, witnessed by the free-floating “The Blessing,” in which Lloyd’s tone-conscious musings built above Hart’s rolling mallets.

Stenson was particularly sensitive to this side of Lloyd, pacing spare accompaniment during reflective moments, intensifying his approach as the pace quickened. His improvisation on the ballad “Desolation Sound” developed from quiet, simple beginnings into a deep, harmonically rich affair.

Unlike Higgins, who put down a wide polyrhythmic tapestry in support of Lloyd during their last appearance here, Hart took the direct approach, playing to the saxophonist’s lines while echoing rhythmic bursts with explosions of his own. The drummer frequently used brushes and mallets to add mood and texture, and his driving up-tempo play featured a constant variation of tom-tom and cymbal variations.

Lloyd’s flute work on a pair of contrasting tunes, “Little Peace” and “Third Floor Richard,” was much like his saxophone work with attractive tonal variations and an unmatched compassion.

* The Charles Lloyd Quartet plays Catalina Bar & Grill, 1640 N. Cahuenga Blvd.; tonight through Sunday, 8:30 and 10:30 p.m. Cover $16 Friday-Saturday, $13 Sunday. (213) 466-2210.