Enjoying Walton Before Big Apple Move

There was an overflow crowd at Rocco Ristorante in Bel-Air Thursday night for a brilliant performance by the Cedar Walton Trio, with Tony Dumas on bass and Billy Higgins on drums. Fortunately, the appearance reached beyond the assembled crowd, since an hour of the music was available via a live radio broadcast on KLON-FM (88.1).

And that was all to the good, in part because of the quality of the playing, in part because Walton, after serving as one of the Southland’s major resident jazz artists for more than a decade, has announced plans to move to New York City.

That his presence will be missed was apparent for every note of the opening set, which was a sterling example of high-caliber mainstream jazz at its finest. For the most part, the trio played familiar material--standards such as “My Heart Stood Still” and “Smoke Gets in Your Eyes,” familiar jazz lines (Freddie Hubbard’s “Little Sunflower”) and originals (Walton’s “Dear Ruth” and “Cedar’s Blues”).

And the tunes were delivered with infinite respect for the material. Rather than use the pieces as starting points for excursions into unrelated improvisatory territory, the Walton Trio interpreted, paraphrased and expanded upon the essence of the songs, while always maintaining a strong referential connection to the original melodies and harmonies.

There’s nothing unusual about that, in essence, since theme and improvisatory variations are the primal material of the jazz experience. What was remarkable was the manner in which it was done. Walton’s solos were virtual instant compositions, spontaneously assembled into coherent musical structures, driven with an urgent sense of swing, and colorfully sprinkled with often whimsical quotes from other tunes. Dumas’ bass playing was solid and supportive, firmly grounding the music rather than roving freely in the style more commonly heard for the last few decades in piano trios.

And then, of course, there was Higgins, surely one of the finest musical jewels in all of jazz. He was his familiar smiling, totally participatory self, but he also was an archetype for what thoughtful jazz drumming is all about. Constantly listening, constantly interacting to Walton’s slightest shift of emphasis, Higgins used his drums as an astonishingly rich palette of sounds. On several numbers--especially “My Heart Stood Still” and “Cedar’s Blues”--he played solos that were as musically fascinating as they were crowd pleasing.

In an era of massive percussion kits and bombastic bashing, Higgins revealed that jazz drumming can be an expression of rich musical subtlety without sacrificing an ounce of rhythmic swing and drive.

The Walton Trio continues at Rocco Ristorante tonight with guests Sal Marquez, trumpet, and Ralph Moore, tenor saxophone.

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* The Cedar Walton Trio with Sal Marquez and Ralph Moore at Rocco Ristorante, 2930 Beverly Glen Circle, Bel-Air. Tonight from 10. $15 admission. (310) 475-9807.