Swinging Rhythms and Clear Freeways

Ask a jazz musician what they did on New Year’s Eve and the most likely response will be a quizzical look followed by “I worked; what else?” That’s because the ringing in of the new is the one night in which, to paraphrase Garrison Keillor, the gigs abound, the joints are crowded and the prices are above average.

The arrival of 2002 was no exception, with rhythms swinging across the Southland, from Fullerton’s Steamers to Valley Glen’s Charlie O’s.

It would have taken a personal helicopter, in fact, to have fully sampled the night’s jazz wares, so my effort to survey the range of sounds was limited to what the freeways would allow within a limited time frame. And, remarkably, it was easier to move around town than I anticipated.

At 9:30 p.m., the first stop was the Jazz Bakery, where soul jazz giant Les McCann was holding sway with his Nu Texas Savages. Seated, Buddha-like, at center stage behind his electric piano, McCann mostly devoted himself to the role of musical magistrate.

Tossing in a few vocals, briefly punching out his patented riffs, he kept the music cooking while allocating much of the solo space to the talented young Savages trio--especially the stirring organ of Bobby Sparks and the tenor saxophone of Keith Anderson.

McCann does not have quite the keyboard proficiency he had before his stroke in the mid-1990s, but he knows precisely where to place a note for the greatest emotional impact.

Add to that his irrepressible vocalizing on hits such as “Compared to What” and “Cold Duck Time,” and the Bakery’s enthusiastic crowd clearly experienced everything it needed for a soulful New Year’s celebration.

At 10:30 p.m., after a trek north to Catalina Bar & Grill, half a block away from the busy sidewalks of Hollywood Boulevard, it was a distinct pleasure to step inside the club’s warm, colorfully decorated interior to experience the velvety sounds of singer Jane Monheit. Viewed by many as the next breakout jazz vocalist, Monheit, 24, is still finding her way and establishing her style.

However, her musical maturity can only be described as remarkable and seems to improve with each new appearance.

Monheit’s growing improvisational skills and her capacity to vary her melodic line without losing contact with her songs suggest that she is ready to step into the spotlight. In her rendering of “Get Out of Town,” for example, a piece scheduled for inclusion on her new album, the arrangement’s effort to establish a jazz setting was unnecessary; if anything it restricted her ability to soar.

And when she wound up the evening with what has become a trademark version of “Over the Rainbow” she further revealed her capacity to new, transformative qualities in her interpretations. No wonder the crowd responded with a standing ovation, enthusiastically waving party hats and blowing noisemakers.

Half an hour after 2002 rolled in, the Hollywood Freeway--amazingly--was wide open. And at Spazio, Sherman Oaks, the party was still going full blast. The attractions there were the veteran tenor saxophonist Teddy Edwards, singer Spanky Wilson and the Tom Ranier Trio.

Edwards and the trio romped through the twists and turns of the bebop world, oblivious to the crowd’s animated conversations, with Ranier and Edwards delivering impressive solos. But it remained for Wilson to pull the audience back into the music--and onto the dance floor--with a dazzling version of “Ain’t Misbehavin’.”

Adding a final coda to the evening, as well as the New Year’s jazz journey, Edwards and the Ranier Trio followed with an appropriate closing number, the old Nat “King” Cole classic, “That’s All.”