Rodriguez Shows He’s More Than Top Educator

Trumpeter Bobby Rodriguez has been such a successful educator that his own solid gifts as a performer have not always received the credit they deserve. Granted the 1998 Jazz Educator of the Year award by the Los Angeles Jazz Society, he directs Latin jazz ensembles at USC and Pasadena City College and has led his County High School of the Arts jazz ensembles to numerous competitive achievements.

But, as he made amply clear at the Carpenter Performing Arts Center Sunday afternoon in what has now become his annual “Latin Jazz Christmas Show,” Rodriguez is both a first-rate jazz trumpeter and an ebullient, entertaining performer. Leading his regular seven-piece ensemble, he devoted his entire program to Latin rhythm transformations of Christmas music--from salsa-drenched versions of “O Tannenbaum” and “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” to a sweetly lyrical flugelhorn rendering of “The Christmas Song.”

It was all well-played, with Rodriguez’s stirring trumpet lines taking the lead on virtually every number, pianist Serge Kasimoff laying down vigorous tumbao patterns, and the five-person percussion section (including Rodriguez’s wife, Yvonne) maintaining a multilayered, foot-tapping flow of rhythm.

Good as it was, however, it wasn’t quite enough for Rodriguez, who clearly enjoys making a solid connection with his listeners. So, on several numbers, he brought out the dance team of Albert Torres and Chantal to provide visual counterpoint. On two other pieces, he invited children from the audience on stage, producing several lovely holiday moments. The reading of “Silent Night” was particularly effective, with Rodriguez playing the song while seated in a circle of children, each of them clutching a miniature toy trumpet.

The program climaxed, appropriately, with the additional participation of 17 of Rodriguez’s talented young instrumental students. Performing stirring renditions of “Santa Claus Is Coming to Town” and “Feliz Navidad,” they brought the well-produced concert to a close on a high note, their solid individual and ensemble skills underscoring how effectively Rodriguez has balanced the educational and the performance aspects of his career.