James Moody Mixes Humor With Versatility

Why isn’t James Moody better known? Why doesn’t this creatively charged, supremely entertaining jazz artist have a larger following of fans?

Good questions, with no real answers. Listening and watching Moody’s captivating performance at the Jazz Bakery on Tuesday night, it was hard to understand how this gifted musician could have reached the age of 73 without becoming a nationally recognized jazz icon. In a relatively brief, hour-and-a-half set, he played three different instruments, told some of his trademark, double-talk jokes and sang “Pennies From Heaven,” retitled, for the sake of Eddie Jefferson’s droll lyrics, “Benny’s From Heaven,” tossing in a few feats of yodeling for added emphasis.

Moody’s appearance wasn’t all that different, in fact, from the sort of performances his old boss, Dizzy Gillespie, used to give. Like Gillespie, Moody countered his more amusing moments with plenty of first-rate jazz improvising. Moving easily from tenor saxophone to soprano saxophone to flute, he ripped through a stack of choruses on “Secret Love,” found new inspiration in the harmonies of “Body and Soul” and floated across the bossa nova rhythms of “Wave.” And he interspersed each musical number with asides, witticisms and a few outrageous puns.

Moody was aided by a rhythm section that both interacted with and responded to his quirky twists and turns of musical emphasis. Pianist Roger Kellaway has his own offbeat improvisational ideas, and he constantly balanced Moody’s lines with counter-melodies, pounding rhythms and call-and-response phrasing. Brian Bromberg’s bass playing, virtuosic as ever, was an added fillip, and Roy McCurdy’s drumming was both musically intelligent and creatively supportive.

But in the end, it was Moody’s show all the way, as it will be through Sunday night for the rest of his run at the Bakery. Still at the top of his form, he should be heard--not just by jazz fans, but by anyone who doubts the capacity of jazz artists to reach out and touch every kind of listener.

BE THERE

The James Moody Quartet at the Jazz Bakery through Sunday. 3233 Helms Ave., Culver City, (310) 271-9039. $20 cover tonight, Friday and Saturday at 8:30 and 10 p.m., and $18 Sunday at 8 and 9:30 p.m.