JAZZ REVIEW : Nzinga Draws Cheers From Drew Festival Audience

Anchored by Cindy Blackman, who all but pounded her drum set into submission, and Nedra Wheeler, providing a complementary rock-hard bass beat, Nzinga brought cheers from the late-afternoon crowd at Sunday’s Jazz at Drew.

It was the second of four concerts in the third annual fund-raising jazz festival for Charles R. Drew School of Medicine and Science, set outdoors on the school’s Los Angeles campus. The lineup included drummer Tony Williams, saxophonist John Handy and singer Ernie Andrews.

On the one hand, Nzinga, an all-woman ad hoc quintet that also spotlighted violinist Karen Briggs, pianist Aeros de Anda and vocalist-percussionist Cai, worked with a commendable high energy, as Briggs and Blackman delivered heated solos.

The group, however, lacked cohesion. Drummer Blackman, who has played with Joe Henderson, and bassist Wheeler, who has performed with the Harper Brothers and Kenny Kirkland, swung with an authentic jazz exuberance. The problem was the rest of the band.

Briggs mostly based her improvisations on polished technical ideas--for example, two or three notes repeated again and again or high, piercing tones--rather than stringing together captivating melodies. Pianist De Anda offered warmth, particularly on her “Gift of the Morning,” but was somewhat stiff, eschewing a jazz fluidity. Also, Cai’s vocals on “Old Black Magic” and “Moondance” were a bit overly dramatic.

In contrast, trombonist George Bohanon and reedman Bennie Maupin, who opened the show, were A-1. The leaders deftly handled Maupin’s “Neophilia,” which was slow, swaying and riveting, and the Kenny Dorham’s “Una Mas,” based around a bubbling bossa-rock beat.

Jazz at Drew continues Saturday, featuring Cedar Walton and George Duke, and Sunday with Bobby Hutcherson and Harold Land.