Rick Margitza’s Fine Tenor Sax Sounds Get Lost in Noisy Crowd

Try to imagine a jazz tenor saxophone style that manages to blend elements from Stan Getz and Wayne Shorter with a bit of John Coltrane thrown in for good measure. That’s about what one gets from the playing of Rick Margitza.

One of the many solid young players who emerged in the late ‘80s (he played with Miles Davis in 1988), Margitza, 38, has never received the same amount of attention directed at other players in his age range. It’s difficult to understand why not.

On Thursday at the Club Brasserie in the Wyndham Bel Age Hotel, he delivered a set of tunes filled with imaginative, well-articulated soloing. And he did so under somewhat less than felicitous circumstances.

There were no problems with his music, which ranged from the lovely Legrand-Bergman tune “You Must Believe in Spring” and Horace Silver’s ballad “Peace,” to provocative lines by Margitza and Ornette Coleman. Backed by the supportive work of pianist David Goldblatt, bassist Robert Hurst and drummer Dick Weller, Margitza’s improvising ran the gamut from sweet-toned lyricism to virtuosic technical displays.

Occasionally, when his more rapid lines verged toward textbook exercises, he usually compensated with offsetting whoops and squeals--spontaneous avant-garde-isms to counter his academic qualities.

Although the ensemble appeared to be reading some of the material, its backing was generally in character with Margitza’s upfront style. And Hurst, who has worked with Margitza in the past, seemed especially in tune with the saxophonist’s musical intentions.

Unfortunately, there were those in the modest-sized audience who appeared less interested, obliviously chatting while the music was underway. And the bartender didn’t help matters, inexplicably joining several drinkers at the bar in a loud, effusive conversation throughout most of the set.

The Club Brasserie is one of the Southland’s most physically attractive jazz rooms, and the booking policy is generally first-rate. But the management needs to work harder at establishing the sort of listening environment that allows a fine artist such as Margitza to receive a fair hearing.

*

* The Rick Margitza Quartet at the Club Brasserie in the Wyndham Bel Age Hotel, 1020 N. San Vicente Blvd., West Hollywood. Tonight from 9 to 1 a.m. (310) 854-1111. No cover; two drink minimum.