Baritone sax trio shines in show dedicated to Mulligan

It was an amazing sight Tuesday at the Jazz Bakery -- a trio of brawny baritone saxophonists spread across the stage with the rip-snorting, foot-stomping vitality of a line of rhinos ready to charge across the plains of the Serengeti.

It’s not exactly an everyday event, especially when the lineup consists of three world-class musicians -- Ronnie Cuber, Howard Johnson and Gary Smulyan -- performing a program dedicated to one of the instrument’s most distinctive practitioners, Gerry Mulligan. But there they were, the Baritone Saxophone Band, kicking off the opening set with Mulligan’s “Five Brothers” and following it with such Mulligan classics as “Bernie’s Tune,” “Walkin’ Shoes” and “Line for Lyons.”

Three baritone saxophones playing harmony passages might sound like a recipe for mud soup. But for the most part the Cuber/Johnson/Smulyan combination, backed by pianist Jon Mayer, bassist Darek Oles and drummer Joe La Barbera, delivered the ensemble passages with remarkable focus, clarity and irresistible swing.

On “Walkin’ Shoes,” there was a stunning passage in which the rhythm section laid out, opening up a space for the three baritones to improvise collectively. On the Denzel Best composition “Move” (one of the evening’s few non-Mulligan pieces), the trio drove through the tune’s rapid-fire bebop line with the rumbling force of a stampede by those rhinos.

Despite the Mulligan orientation of the music, the soloing owed more to such heavier-toned baritone saxophonists as Pepper Adams.

Group leader Cuber, who played most of the lead passages in the ensemble sections, was brilliant throughout, finding the tender moments in “Stella by Starlight,” romping with hard bop enthusiasm through the up-tempo numbers.

Johnson, the trio’s most recent member, ranged even more widely, sometimes rendering his lines with upper-register coolness, occasionally honking into the raspy, lower end of his horn.

Smulyan was the speed demon in the group, filling each solo with fast-fingered, propulsive flurries, accenting his overdrive momentum with explosive, multi-phonic accents.

Aside from the obvious differences between the Baritone Saxophone Band and the Serengeti rhinos, the principal distinction was the fact that a rhino charge lays waste to everything in its path. The potent energy of the Baritone Saxophone Band left only musical magic in its wake, a vivid reminder that jazz can be a joyous, invigorating experience.

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The Baritone Saxophone Band

Where: The Jazz Bakery, 3233 Helms Ave., L.A.

When: 8 and 9:30 p.m. today through Sunday

Price: $25

Info: (310) 271-9039