Pianist Hammond still a fabulous secret

John Hammond is one of the Southland’s great jazz treasures. No, not the blues-folk singer John Hammond Jr.; not even his father, the legendary jazz producer.

John Hammond, the pianist -- no relation to the above -- is a veteran jazz artist who has worked with everyone from George Benson and Carmen McRae to Michael Jackson and Cuba Gooding. His piano playing is heard flowing from the fingers of Jeff and Beau Bridges in “The Fabulous Baker Boys,” and he had the enviable task of coaching and producing Michelle Pfeiffer’s vocal numbers in the same film.

On Friday night at Fitzgerald’s in the Hilton Woodland Hills, Hammond was at his usual spot behind a 9-foot Yamaha grand piano, leading a first-rate jazz ensemble that included alto saxophonist Kim Richmond, trumpeter Clay Jenkins, bassist Jim Hughart and drummer Ralph Penland. It’s a familiar position for Hammond, who performs at Fitzgerald’s three to four nights a week as the room’s resident musical director and band leader.

But listening to the confident, smoothly articulated fashion in which he led his ensemble through a set of standard tunes ranging from “I’m Old Fashioned” to “Don’t Blame Me” and “All of You,” only increased the mystery of why this fine player -- on the scene for decades -- has not attained wider visibility. Hammond’s ballad work was filled with subtle harmonic coloration; his midtempo soloing recalled the brisk, two-handed chording of Red Garland; and his support of the other players added depth and perspective to each of their offerings.