Veteran Guitarist Ellis Delivers Smooth Sets

Mondays are usually off nights for jazz clubs--opportunities to try out new talent or showcase (usually poorly paid) big bands. Major-name jazz artists usually don’t arrive until Tuesday or later.

But this week’s Monday night was a rare and pleasant exception, a chance to hear one of the patriarchs of jazz guitar--Herb Ellis--performing at Rocco Ristorante in Bel-Air in an infrequent nightclub appearance. Ellis has played, at some point or other, with almost every major jazz artist, from Coleman Hawkins, Roy Eldridge and Dizzy Gillespie to Stan Getz, Ray Brown and Harry “Sweets” Edison. But his most visible appearances have been with the Oscar Peterson Trio and in a series of duos with other guitarists--Charlie Byrd, Barney Kessel and Joe Pass among them.

So it was appropriate that he was the initial guest artist in Rocco’s new Monday night guitar series, in which guitarist John Pisano presents and performs with a progression of all-star artists.

At 78, Ellis had the look of a smiling, Norman Rockwell image of an all-American grandfather. But there was nothing elderly about his playing, which rocked with the effervescent swing that has always been his stock in trade. His white hair glistening in the spotlight, his fingers moving with startling fluency, Ellis soloed with a constant dedication to the blues, investing every tune with twisting, bent-note, vocalized phrasing.

He transformed the “Battle Hymn of the Republic” into a propulsive blend of country, soul and gospel. With “Body and Soul,” he found the blues elements within the song’s complex harmonies. He demonstrated that his fingering is as fast and articulate as ever in a high-octane romp through “I Want to Be Happy.” And he dug into the essence of his passion with the classic Mercer Ellington blues song “Things Ain’t What They Used to Be.”

Pisano, one of the world’s great accompanists, provided brilliant support for Ellis. More than that, he revealed--in a series of impressive choruses--that his own world-class solo skills have been far too little appreciated over the years. Paul Kreibich on drums and Ken Wild on bass provided smoothly supportive accompaniment.

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* “John Pisano’s Guitar Night” at Rocco Ristorante, 2930 Beverly Glen Circle, Bel-Air. Monday: Joe Diorio, $5 cover charge. July 26: Frank Potenza, no cover. (310) 475-9807.