Cocktail lounge jazz the way it used to be

Hearing Page Cavanaugh perform in a setting as elegant and intimate as Spazio in Sherman Oaks is reminiscent of what it once was like to hear well-played jazz in an atmospheric cocktail lounge -- before, that is, cocktail jazz became known as high-camp retro music.

What the Cavanaugh trio had to offer Sunday may have been stylistically dated, but it was musically alive and vibrant. The style dates to the singer-pianist’s groups from the 1940s and ‘50s, enlivened by a buoyant, Nat King Cole-inspired swing and subtle, understated vocals. In those early years, Cavanaugh’s groups were especially known for unison vocals, sung in whispering fashion. And he repeated one of his better known performances from the era, “Walkin’ My Baby Back Home,” with bassist Phil Mallory and drummer Dave Tull joining him in the lighthearted vocal.

Instrumentally, the trio kicked off the set with a brisk rendering of “Spring Is Here” and an up-tempo, climactic version of “Sweet Georgia Brown.” In between, the 80-year-old Cavanaugh’s program was highlighted by his lovely, Mel Torme-like renderings of “These Foolish Things” and “If I Had You.” Other material included such offbeat selections as Hoagy Carmichael’s “Small Fry” (sung as a sardonic duet with Mallory) and Bobby Troup’s loopy, fear-of-the-number-13 song “Triskaidekaphobia.” Between tunes, Cavanaugh regaled his enthusiastic listeners with tales of the Hollywood music business (his trio appeared in several pictures, notably a pair with Doris Day, “Romance on the High Seas” and “Lullaby of Broadway”). It was, in other words -- as cocktail lounge jazz used to be -- a pleasurable way to spend an entertaining musical evening.