Jazz Reviews : A New Jazzbird Joins the Strong Female Quintet

The unique quintet known as Jazzbirds has finally secured a regular job. Now heard every Sunday at the Rusty Pelican in Glendale, the group also played last Friday and Saturday at Chadney’s in Burbank.

One significant change has been made since Jazzbirds was last reviewed: Joanne Grauer has taken over the piano chair. Her contributions Friday indicated that she is a valuable addition both as soloist and rhythm section component. In this setting, Grauer manages to convey her perennial lyricism along with a rare harmonic sensitivity, as was particularly evident in “You’ve Changed.”

The latter was a vehicle for the serenely attractive singing style of Betty O’Hara, who co-leads the group with Stacy Rowles. O’Hara normally plays valve trombone, doubling on bass trumpet and cornet; she also composes works in a neatly tailored hard-bop manner, as the engaging “Aubergine” and the eponymous “Jazzbird” demonstrated.

Rowles has long shown her debt to such trumpet or flugelhorn masters as Clark Terry, Clifford Brown and Art Farmer. Her sensitive solo on Brown’s own “Daahoud,” in fact, was a highlight of the set, along with an ingenious rearrangement of “Night in Tunisia,” of which Dizzy Gillespie would have approved heartily. Rowles also sang, in a charming little-girl voice, on “I Fall in Love Too Easily.”

Mary Ann McSweeney remains one of the Southland’s most underrated bass players. Though not feeling well Friday and replaced during the second set by the equally adept Nils Johnson, she was on hand long enough to display her strong sound and wealth of ideas. Jeanette Wrate’s drumming rounded out the group effectively, particularly when a Latin undercurrent was called for.

With the Jazzbirds now fittingly set for the Pelican, can Birdland West be far behind?