Benoit blazes in key of bombastic

There was never any doubt that the piano player was the leader of the band in David Benoit’s opening set Thursday at Catalina Bar & Grill. With a battery of microphones stuck into the guts of the club’s big Yamaha grand and the sound cranked up to place Benoit’s busy piano lines in the vanguard of his entire quintet, his playing dominated most of the music.

One of the pioneering members of the smooth jazz/contemporary jazz genre, he offered a selection of material from the mid-’80s -- “Kei’s Song” -- on up through a brace of numbers from his latest album, “Right Here, Right Now.”

Benoit’s career activities have also grazed freely through everything from mainstream jazz to children’s music, and he enhanced his set with such distinctly non-smooth jazz items as Herbie Hancock’s “Watermelon Man” and Dave Brubeck’s “Blue Rondo a la Turk.”

Add to that Norah Jones’ hit “Don’t Know Why” (written by Jesse Harris) and Benoit’s own gentle theme for his father, “Quiet Room,” and the program’s thematic content held plenty of musical promise. Also on the plus side: saxophonist Eric Marienthal’s playing provided rare moments of straight-ahead swing, while guitarist Pat Kelly, bassist Ernest Tibbs and drummer Jeff Olsen laid down a dependable flow of rhythm.

But the combination of Benoit’s bombastic, heavily chorded style and the piano’s overblown amplification almost completely overwhelmed any possibility for dynamic coloration and contrast. His almost constant presence in the spotlight -- in terms of musical manner, visual presentation and sheer volume of sound -- sharply diminished what might have been a truly engaging musical evening.

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David Benoit

Where: Catalina Bar & Grill, 1640 N. Cahuenga Blvd., Hollywood

When: Today and Saturday, 8:30 and 10:30 p.m.; Sunday, 7:30 and 9:30 p.m.

Price: $20 to $35, with two drink or dinner purchase minimum.

Info: (323) 466-2210