Walton Quartet Has the Goods, If Not the Name

In the rush of attention paid to the high-visibility elements in the turn-of-the-millennium jazz world--the Ellington centennial, the L.A. Philharmonic’s new jazz initiative, the seemingly endless activities of the Jazz at Lincoln Center program--it can be easy to overlook that remarkably creative work is still being done in the jazz trenches. In other words, in the routine nightclub gigs that are still the basic venues for most jazz artists.

The performance of the Cedar Walton Quartet at Catalina Bar & Grill Wednesday was a case in point. Walton has been a highly regarded jazz pianist for decades, and he was working with an ensemble that included fine English-born tenor saxophonist Ralph Moore, dependable and under-appreciated bassist Tony Dumas and veteran drummer Billy Higgins (who was granted the drummer of the year award Monday by the Jazz Journalists Assn.’s 1999 Jazz Awards).

Despite the obvious talent and experience present in the Walton ensemble, however, it doesn’t possess the kind of recognizability factor that would make it a headliner at, say, the Monterey or the Playboy Jazz festivals. Yet on Wednesday, only a few days after the Playboy extravaganza at the Hollywood Bowl drew more than 17,000 listeners, the Walton quartet--performing before an audience a fraction of the size of Playboy’s--played a set that was at least as good as anything heard at the Bowl event.

Walton’s crisp, articulate playing was the centerpiece for the performance. His soloing was filled with bright melodic fragments, briskly rhythmic chording and colored by his characteristic use of quotes--fragments of melody from familiar tunes. Moore started slowly, but when he hit his stride he played with an articulate, post-Coltrane modernism. And on his ballad feature, “My One and Only Love,” his improvising was filled with passion and melodic imagination, proving (as Lester Young did so many times) that it is possible to effectively improvise at slow tempos without immediately reverting to double-time phrasing.

Dumas and Higgins were the perfect rhythm team. More than that, Dumas soloed beautifully (especially on “All the Things You Are”), and the irrepressibly ebullient Higgins once again demonstrated the extraordinary value of a drummer who actually listens and interacts with other musicians.

Low visibility aside, it was a splendid performance by a group of players who insisted upon placing the music front and center. It may not have been the sort of approach that would necessarily lead to the spotlight role at a major jazz festival. But it sure made for good listening.

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* The Cedar Walton Quartet at Catalina Bar & Grill through Sunday. 1640 N. Cahuenga Blvd., (213) 466-2210. $16 cover tonight and Saturday at 8:30 p.m. and Sunday at 7 p.m.; $14 cover tonight and Saturday at 10:30 p.m. and Sunday at 9 p.m. Two-drink minimum.