Smith Yields Spotlight to Able Partners

Jimmy Smith’s opening set at Catalina Bar & Grill on Thursday night delivered some compelling, hard-swinging jazz. Most of it, however, was provided not by Smith, but by saxophonist-flutist Herman Riley, guitarist Phil Upchurch and drummer Garyck King.

Smith, whose reign as one of the masters of jazz organ playing reaches back nearly half a century, complained throughout about the distractions of a cold and fever. His hushed voice and somewhat pained demeanor suggested that he was, indeed, in some discomfort. Still, the performance called up echoes of past Smith appearances in which one or another nonmusical difficulty seemed to intrude upon the proceedings.

The net result Thursday was an even further reduction of Smith’s typically minimalist performances, one in which most of the space was turned over to his musical associates. And, in those passages, the offerings were superlative.

First, there was a passionate, audience-stimulating set of variations on “Mood Indigo” by Riley, playing soprano saxophone with intense drive, fervently building chorus after chorus, climaxing in a cadenza that combined sliding blues phrases with virtuosic excursions across the length and breadth of his horn.

Next, Upchurch presented a lovely solo medley in which he surveyed material ranging from “Satin Doll,” “Misty” and “Darn That Dream” through a typically engaging, blues-drenched rendering of “St. Louis Woman.”

And finally, King, taking charge as the other musicians left the stage, used Sonny Rollins’ “St. Thomas” as the starting point for that rarest of jazz events: a drum solo intelligently balancing percussion timbres and pitches with an irrepressible rhythmic drive.

Where was Smith during all of this? Mostly offstage. The rare passages in which he was in the spotlight--an opening rendition of Antonio Carlos Jobim’s “Corcovado” and an occasional set of blues choruses--fully affirmed his continuing capacity to trigger improvisational pyrotechnics on his instrument. But such moments were few and far between.

Dedicated Smith fans undoubtedly will be happy to hear him, even in such abbreviated form.

But they’ll be paying hardcover prices for the Reader’s Digest version.

*

The Jimmy Smith Quartet at Catalina Bar & Grill, 1640 N. Cahuenga Blvd. Tonight at 8:30 and Sunday at 7:30 p.m.; $22 cover. Tonight at 10:30 and Sunday at 9:30 p.m.; $20 cover. Two-drink minimum. (323) 466-2210.