Richards Serves a Mainstream Course

There was nothing fancy about vibist Emil Richards’ gig at Rocco’s in Bel-Air on Tuesday night. No breakthroughs, no envelope stretching, no fusion crossovers. Just good, straight-ahead, well-played jazz.

In addition to his skill on the vibraphone, Richards is a masterful all-around percussionist. His extensive history encompasses everything from experimental work with the Indian-influenced rhythms of the Hindustani Jazz Sextet to the supportive demands of years spent as a member of Frank Sinatra’s accompanying ensemble.

But his extensive career as a first-call studio musician and his fascination with world percussion have tended to cloud Richards’ visibility as a first-rate, mainstream jazz improviser. On Tuesday, however, that skill was on prime display, especially apparent in the acoustically well-balanced setting of Rocco’s intimate performance space.

Supported by a sterling rhythm section--pianist Mike Lang, bassist Mike Valerio and drummer Joe LaBarbera--Richards dug deeply into the music from the start of his first set, his fleet lines skimming across the surface of the rhythm with the ease of a dragonfly darting over a summer lake. His prodigious technique was ever present, but always at the service of his hard-swinging musical ideas.

Although the group concentrated on familiar standards--Victor Young’s “Stella by Starlight” and Cole Porter’s “I Love You”--plus such well-known jazz items as Fats Waller’s “Jitterbug Waltz” and Dizzy Gillespie’s “Ow!,” there was never a sense of players simply going through the motions.

Richards, in fact, couldn’t have asked for better musical companions. Lang’s soloing, despite a few uneven spots, was filled with the compositional imagination and brisk rhythmic drive that are his stock in trade. LaBarbera, as always, demonstrated that drumming can be both subtle and explosive. And Valerio, not a familiar player, was superb, laying down a firm rhythmic foundation and improvising in a fashion that avoided virtuosic gimmickry in favor of remaining in touch with the melody and harmony of a song.