Grammy Fever Hits Jazz Bakery at Rousing All-Star Jam Session

Grammy celebration month began a day early Monday with an exhilarating, four-hour, all-star jam session at the Jazz Bakery. Attended by a packed crowd, it was the first of four similar events leading up to Grammy Awards night on Feb. 23.

The setup for the evening harked back to one of the most venerable jazz concert formats: a Jazz at the Philharmonic-style presentation in which a single rhythm section backed a series of upfront soloists.

In this case, the rhythm team was the consummately professional quartet of Mike Melvoin on piano, Mich Holder on guitar, Chuck Berghofer on bass and John Guerin on drums. They proved fully capable of responding superbly to the multiplicity of demands made upon them--a wide range of material, the need to back a variety of different stylistic approaches--while supplementing their accompaniment with their own bits and pieces of first-rate soloing.

The soloists were gathered into two groups of five, with an intermission in between. The opening set established a high standard: fiery saxophone work from Lanny Morgan and Pete Christlieb; trumpeter Steve Huffsteter knocking out a series of choruses in his characteristically brisk, efficient style; trombonist George Bohanon playing a lush, sensitive version of “Every Time We Say Goodbye”; and the much-admired studio singer Sally Stevens making a rare public appearance, finding the heart and soul of the Legrand/Mandel tune “Where Do You Start?”

Another saxophone encounter highlighted the program’s second set, with the youthful Zane Musa matching his fiery, no-holds-barred improvisatory style against the elegant articulateness of Gary Foster in a romp through “Scrapple From the Apple.” French horn player Richard Todd added a few sparkling choruses from an instrument rarely heard in jazz.

The set was further highlighted by a brief duet between Melvoin and bassist Charlie Haden, the latter performing well despite recent shoulder surgery. And singer Bill Henderson added his unique blend of blues and balladry via a whimsical Johnny Mandel number and a lovely Melvoin original.

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* Grammy Jazz Jam at the Jazz Bakery, with the rhythm section of Mike Lang, Jim Hughart, Frank Capp and Dean Parks, and soloists Warren Luening, Bill Watrous, Jack Nimitz, Larry Bunker, Michael Dees, Bobby Rodriguez, Abe Most, Joel Peskin, Peter Erskine and Sue Rainey. Monday, 8 p.m. $20 admission. 3233 Helms Ave., Culver City. (310) 271-9039.