Pianists Taylor, Lewis Team Up in Style

The Billy Taylor-Ramsey Lewis concert at the Alex Theatre Friday night had the look of a classical recital. Two grand pianos side by side on an empty stage. Two performers in conservative black tuxedos.

Hanging at the back of the stage, however, was a brightly lit sign that immediately put the event in context: “Playboy Jazz Festival in Concert,” in a logo that featured the Playboy bunny. Its presence in such an otherwise austere setting perfectly defined a program that might best be described as chamber jazz.

Taylor and Lewis are well suited to each other. Each has a solid grounding in bebop; each is a technically virtuosic player; and each performs with an energetic rhythmic surge and a rich understanding of jazz harmonies. It was appropriate that one of the showcase pieces of the evening was a movement from Taylor’s “Suite for Art Tatum.” Rendered with a solid respect and understanding of the legendary jazz pianist’s playing, its solo segments revealed how much both Taylor and Lewis have been influenced by Tatum’s music.

The balance of the program was devoted largely to other compositions by pianists. The duo’s versions of George Gershwin’s “S’Wonderful” and “But Not for Me” were beautifully done, enlivened by improvisations that managed to retain both the richness of the harmonies and the elegance of the melodies. Denny Zeitlin’s far lesser known but compelling “Quiet Now” was performed in a kind of atmospheric mood that retained a hovering quality until the final few tinkling notes.

Taylor was especially effective with his own grooving composition “Soul Sister.” Lewis, who made his reputation in the ‘60s with such pop items as “The In Crowd” and “Hang On Sloopy,” focused this time on his ability to create rich, complex improvisational tapestries. His solo during “Body and Soul” was stunning, an imaginative impromptu that was a virtual definition of chamber jazz at its best.

The only problem in an otherwise superb evening of spontaneous music was the not-always-felicitous audio balance between the pianos. The opening number, “S’Wonderful,” required concentrated listening to separate the two instruments from each other. Matters improved as the program continued, but a good third of the evening would have been far more attractive with a more communicative and accurate sound mix.

The Lewis-Taylor duo appeared at the Plummer Auditorium in Fullerton on Saturday.