Golson Provides Wit, Invention

Benny Golson stood at the side of the Jazz Bakery stage Tuesday night, tenor saxophone tucked under one arm, calmly appraising the work of his rhythm section as it steamed through one of his familiar jazz lines. At 71, he is an experienced jazz warrior, road hardened, still eager to stand shoulder to shoulder with younger players as they take on the unpredictable adventure of jazz improvisation.

In Tuesday’s opening set, Golson approached that adventure, as he always does, with a combination of confidence, wit and sheer musicality. Each of his tunes was introduced with a brief but memorable story--sometimes humorous, sometimes strikingly insightful. As, for example, when he described the inventive unpredictability of jazz improvisation by noting, “We may go to the same forest, but we never go to the same trees.”

Golson’s tenor saxophone playing, now somewhat sweeter-toned than it was in his younger years, was driven by the same sort of harmonic invention present in his compositions. At the close of one of his more memorable works, “I Remember Clifford” (inspired by the tragic death of the legendary trumpeter Clifford Brown), he launched into a stunning cadenza, arching through a remarkable sequence of arpeggios, one after the other, all logically connected, all leading to a climactic ending. It was a superb example of the compositional view that Golson brought to his soloing, galvanized--in more rapid selections such as an up-tempo romp through “After You’ve Gone”--by a brisk, swinging, rhythmic buoyancy.

Although Golson, like most traveling jazz soloists, was working on a spontaneous basis with an L.A.-based rhythm section--pianist Bill Cunliffe, bassist Bob Magnusson and drummer Roy McCurdy--rather than a regular ensemble, the compatibility level left little to be desired. Magnusson’s especially effective soloing juxtaposed attractive melodic inventiveness against virtuosic flurries of notes. On “I Remember Clifford,” his bow playing--hazardous for some jazz bassists--was right on target. Cunliffe and McCurdy, as always, offered the ultimate in well-crafted accompaniment.

The Benny Golson Quartet at the Jazz Bakery, 3233 Helms Ave., Culver City. Tonight at 8 and 9:30 p.m., $22. Friday and Saturday at 8 and 9:30 p.m., $25. (310) 271-9039.