Without Missing a Beat

Joe Lovano may be the most celebrated saxophonist of the day. But the most surprising and revealing moments of his first show Friday of a two-night run at the Orange County Performing Arts Center’s Founders Hall came as Lovano played not tenor, but drums.

Surprising because it was so unexpected (drummer Yoron Israel was stuck briefly en route to the show from Los Angeles), Lovano’s modest stint at the drums was a revealing look at his musical spirit. Though he has only modest percussion skills, Lovano didn’t let his lack of expertise rein in what he attempted to play.

After finishing a brilliant tenor solo on an original composition “Dawn of Time,” Lovano slid into the drummer’s chair to tap out simple backing against the closed, high-hat cymbal for bassist Dennis Irwin’s solo, something anyone with a sense of time could handle.

But Lovano couldn’t leave well enough alone. Soon he was accenting the bass with hits to the ride cymbal and shimmering open, hi-hat play.

As pianist Kenny Werner moved into his improvisations, the drummer-by-default was irresistibly drawn into the action, riding on the snare and chipping away at the cymbals. As the solo developed in intensity, Lovano added more ambitious percussive accents on the snare and tom-toms while attempting more complicated rolls and drum-cymbal combinations over the changes.

It was as if Lovano, caught up in the spirit of Werner and Irwin’s play, couldn’t help but try to take his drumming to the next level. That desire to go beyond the expected defined his tenor play as well. But while playing his instrument of choice, Lovano was in no way limited by his abilities.

On both traditional tenor and a prototype “straight tenor,” an instrument without curves that resembles an overgrown soprano saxophone, Lovano seemed capable of going anywhere his fancy took him and to go there with resounding style. His play, full of capering runs, wide-eyed squeals and caterwauls as well as passages of great warmth and feeling, came with the enthusiasm and naturalness of a child at play.

Lovano opened the show alone, playing “World On a String” with an almost mischievously playful style bright with impressive tone, dynamic range and use of intervals. Joined for the next number by pianist Kenny Werner, Lovano showed even more abandon on Charles Mingus’ “Duke Ellington’s Sound of Love,” filling his solo with cries and coos, then getting tough on top of Werner’s beefy chords.

The third song, with bassist Irwin joining the group, found Lovano showing his utility on drums. As if by cue at its end, drummer Israel arrived, stick bag in hand, just in time for the next number.

The drummer’s presence sparked the saxophonist into even more daring statements. Israel is a strong player who develops constantly changing rhythmic patterns and startling accents, and who provided the saxophonist, as well as pianist Werner, with the electricity to really light things up.

Werner’s deadly serious style contrasted nicely with Lovano’s more playful approach. His long introduction to the Mingus tune was a lush, detailed affair that recalled the solo piano work of Keith Jarrett in its depth and ambition.

His heartfelt reading of Jimmy Van Heusen’s “Imagination” was appropriately inventive. At another point in the set, Werner constructed a long, moving statement that consisted of rolling variations developed from a single, simple line.

Lovano’s compositional skills were evident as well, primarily on the controlled hubbub of “New York Fascination” through which his tenor bounced along as if on a wild taxi ride. His play on the straight tenor came in firmer, darker tones than issued from the traditional curved horn, allowing him to inject a more serious feel.

Lovano, who has received accolade upon accolade for his tenor playing in the last few years, may never make a mark as a drummer. But as a symbol of his musical ambition, his turn at the traps was an impressive effort indeed.