Moody’s Mode: High-Spirited

Here’s a thought for the holiday weekend. Before you go anywhere, stop by Catalina Bar & Grill to hear James Moody in action. An hour or so of exposure to the veteran saxophonist-flutist’s engaging performance will put you in the sort of high spirits that will make the vacation all the better.

Moody is one of the last of a generation of jazz players who saw no dividing line between art and entertainment, who could follow outrageous humor with adventurous improvising. Louis Armstrong, of course, always had the same sort of equilibrium. So did Fats Waller, Dizzy Gillespie and many others. And it was undoubtedly during the years Moody worked with Gillespie that he discovered his own similar skills.

On Wednesday night at Catalina’s, Moody--a diminutive figure with a mischievous smile--started by thoroughly establishing his credentials as a powerful bebop player. Ripping through at least 10 or 12 up-tempo choruses of “Back Home Again in Indiana,” he was an unstoppable improvisational force. Moving with flowing alacrity through altered harmonies, he nonetheless maintained constant contact with the song, and with its familiar alternate version--the bebop line “Donna Lee”--carrying the audience along with him in his colorful musical journey.

Other tunes were delivered with similarly imaginative results: a lovely rendering of “Body and Soul” on soprano saxophone; a bossa nova romp through “Wave” on flute; and a climactic tour through the constantly shifting harmonies of John Coltrane’s “Giant Steps.”

In between these impressive musical displays, Moody offered his inimitable version of “Moody’s Mood for Love”--singing the Eddie Jefferson vocalese words that were written to Moody’s improvisation on “I’m in the Mood for Love.” No one does the song better than Moody, who invests it with a mix of irresistible humor, shouts, yodels and scat singing.

Adding yet another dose of laughter to the set, he tossed in a bawdy version of “Pennies From Heaven,” retitled “Benny’s From Heaven,” that has to be heard to be fully appreciated.

Moody was aided well by the fine accompaniment of Theo Saunders on piano, Tony Dumas on bass and Ralph Penland on drums.

One of the great treasures of jazz, still in full command of his powers at 76, Moody should be heard at every opportunity.

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The James Moody Quartet at Catalina Bar & Grill, 1640 N. Cahuenga Blvd., Hollywood. Tonightand Saturday at 8:30 p.m. and Sunday at 7:30 p.m., $20 cover. Tonight and Saturday at 10:30 p.m. and Sunday at 9:30 p.m., $16. (323) 466-2210.