Florence band scores a musical touchdown

There was something about the look of the Bob Florence Limited Edition Big Band Monday night at the Jazz Bakery that was reminiscent of a football Saturday at the Coliseum.

Spread across the stage, six saxophone players in front, four trombonists behind them, five trumpeters topping the lineup with a four-piece rhythm section at the side, the image resonated with the look of the USC Trojans, crisply positioned in a full spread power lineup.

The imagery didn’t stop there. Like a well-practiced football squad, the Florence ensemble executed its plays with brisk, driving, interactive efficiency. The rhythm section kicked off the action, saxophones laid down their riffs, and the trombones opened up the center, clearing the way for high-flying trumpets to blast through with maximum musical impact.

Just as football is a game in which sophisticated strategizing is combined with macho muscle, and complex, interlaced movement energizes every play, Florence’s arrangements were carefully crafted combinations of flow, texture, brawn and individual effort. Soloists such as trumpeters Ron Stout and Steve Huffsteter, trombonist Bob McChesney and guitarist Larry Koonse broke through the ensemble collective with fast-moving solo romps, their every move supported by the way-clearing riffing of their teammates.

Florence, seated at the piano, was the mastermind of all this activity. His charts ranged from a whimsical take on the old Jimmy Forrest hit “Night Train” to a funky romp through Stanley Turrentine’s “Sugar,” a pair of Johnny Mandel classics (“Suicide Is Painless” -- a.k.a. the theme from “MASH” -- and “Emily”), and a reinvention of the Stan Kenton theme, “Artistry in Rhythm.” But the real fascination of the evening was the way it came together, surging impressively down the field toward the musical goalposts.