A Tour de Force for Versatile Terry Riley All-Stars

Terry Riley and the All-Stars sounds like the name of a jazz band (remember Louis Armstrong and the All-Stars?), and actually, that impression is not far off the mark. But there is a lot more going on in the music of this quartet than just jazz--or minimalism, for that matter.

For Riley’s free-thinking All-Stars, who made their Los Angeles debut at Schoenberg Hall on Saturday night, boundaries have disappeared altogether; everything was fair game to be thrown into these melanges of composed and improvised music.

In Riley’s piano playing, you might detect modern jazz chords or Spanish harmonic vamps, right-hand solos steeped in Indian raga principles, and in the inimitably titled “Goodbye Goodtimes Blues for Millenium’s Child,” some rather stolid yet unmistakable stride piano. In “Nur Dendia” and “Missi Gono,” Riley also sang in a gravelly voice oddly reminiscent of another great jazz-influenced composer-pianist, Antonio Carlos Jobim.

George Brooks provided the strongest jazz strain on tenor and soprano saxophones, while Turtle Island String Quartet alumnus Tracy Silverman filled several roles, at times processing his electric viola so that it sounded like a cello or an electric guitar with a wah-wah pedal.

In a featured spot, Silverman and guitarist Gyan Riley (Terry’s son) played three duets from “Cantos Desiertos” that passed through flamenco, tango and North Indian territory.

Every piece was stamped with Riley’s flowing, life-affirming signature, exploring musical hills and dales like a rambling road trip through his native Gold Country, meaning sometimes taking abrupt turns down different lanes.

Somehow, Riley creates unity from all of this diversity--a lesson to us all.