JAZZ REVIEW : Pianist Keeps His Balance on the Edge

Arriving with a batch of originals and standards that offered a fresh slant on contemporary modern jazz, New York-based pianist/composer Andy LaVerne made his Los Angeles club debut as a leader Tuesday at Catalina Bar & Grill in Hollywood.

On hand with a mighty threesome--Bob Sheppard (saxes and flute), John Patitucci (bass) and Dave Weckl (drums)--LaVerne walked a narrow ledge during his opening set, his musical vision giving nods of influence to the worlds of melodic (yet potentially eruptive) post-modern acoustic jazz and funk-tinged jazz fusion.

A man with good balance, good hands and good sense, LaVerne kept his viewpoint in focus, saying things his own way no matter what a tune’s particular direction.

For the easy cruising Bob James-ish “Reverse Osmosis,” the pianist--he played the acoustic instrument throughout--concocted a sparse line liberally spiced with blues colorings that, during the improvisations, was shored up by Weckl’s crunching backbeats and Patitucci’s rhythmically diverse but ever solid bass lines. For the evergreen “Softly as in a Morning’s Sunrise,” LaVerne altered both the tune’s melodic and harmonic structure, giving it a whole new look just as if Frank Gehry had outfitted a traditional tract home’s exterior with his trademark quirky-shaped add-ons. On “Chestnuts,” the leader took parts of “All the Things You Are,” added dashes of edgy modernisms and came up with a new wine in a somewhat old bottle.

As a soloist, LaVerne--who reveals traces of Bill Evans and McCoy Tyner in his work--played crisp, precise lines that were usually as melodious as they were inventive and flowing, as on the opening bossa nova, “Pleasure Seekers.” An exception was “Softly,” where an angular stance found edge in the foreground and lyricism held at arm’s length.

Sheppard, his tenor tone particularly glowing as he issued streams of luminescent globes of sound, showed again why he’s in constant demand as a contemporary improviser. On everything from the slow-ish “Pleasure Center” to the quicksilver “Kissing Through Glass,” he delivered glistening bursts that blurred in your ear, resonant bottom notes, high wailing tones and easily paced phrases that dropped right into place.

Patitucci’s work in both supporting and spotlighted roles was perfect for the setting and his solos, though they exhibited his formidable technique, rang forth with substantial amounts of lyricism. Weckl’s drum kit sometimes had a thuddy, “today” sound but he played with firm “time” and constantly pushed his cohorts to stretch themselves.

Andy LaVerne quartet at Catalina Bar & Grill, 1640 N. Cahuenga Blvd., Hollywood, through Sunday.