Morgan and Fortune: A Too-Short Duet

It’s beginning to look like an alto saxophone showcase month at the Jazz Bakery. Last week, Richie Cole put in a stint with his Alto Madness ensemble. This week a pair of veteran altoists--Frank Morgan and Sonny Fortune--display the attractions of bebop.

Morgan, 66, has had a long and checkered career, alternating high-level musical accomplishments with down periods associated with the consequences of hard drug use. Through it all, his playing has almost always risen to a superior level--so much so that many observers have speculated on how good he might have become had he not been distracted by so many personal problems.

Despite what might have been, however, Morgan’s performance Tuesday night was an impressive display of period bop improvising. Kicking off his set with “Night in Tunisia” in somewhat unusual fashion, beginning with the famous break section, he then moved into a hard-driving blues tune. Characteristically, his sweet-toned sound often took the edge off the intricate convolutions of his bop lines. And, on Wayne Shorter’s “Footprints,” he moved beyond his more familiar territory, stretching into a set of passionate choruses filled with shrieks, runs and honks resonating with avant-garde qualities.

Fortune, five years younger, was no less captivated by the canons of bop. And his set--which featured him on flute as well as alto--was a well-crafted demonstration of the potent possibilities still present within the bebop style.

To close the proceedings, Morgan and Fortune came together for a climactic duet rendering of the bop standard “Confirmation,” trading licks in high-spirited fashion, accompanied by the sturdy rhythm section of Nate Morgan, piano; Jeff Littleton, bass; and Sherman Ferguson, drums.

The musical high voltage generated by their encounter led one to wonder why it represented such a small part of the set. Granted their desire to have individual musical showcases, both were clearly stimulated by the exchange, with each producing some of his best work of the evening. A recasting of the program, with Morgan and Fortune rendering most of the material working side by side in a front line, would make for an even more appealing program.

* Frank Morgan and Sonny Fortune at the Jazz Bakery, 3233 Helms Ave., Culver City. Tonight at 8 and 9:30, $20 admission. Friday and Saturday at 8 and 9:30 p.m., and Sunday at 7 and 8:30 p.m. $22 admission. (310) 271-9039.