Mix master

Joe Lovano's winning combinations

by Jim Macnie

Playing the combo has gotten Joe Lovano a long way down the road. Arguably the most highly regarded jazz saxophonist at today, the 44-year-old bandleader is experienced enough to appreciate the beauty of the orthodox bop language, and daring enough to want to pepper that vernacular with bits of his own left-field jargon. No, it's not exactly a unique desire -- to a large degree, the most industrious members of each new jazz generation attempt something similar. But not all of them do so with the eloquence and certitude that's at the heart of Lovano's best stuff. That mixture -- the combo, if you will -- works for this Cleveland-bred, New York-based hornman, because the level of his craft -- what he invents and how he casts those inventions -- is enormous.

Perpetually huzzahed by critics as the the man to beat when it comes to braiding modern ideas with old school swing, Lovano's rep as jazz's most resourceful centrist precedes him these days. He picks up "artist of the year" awards from downbeat and other jazz mags, and his gigs invariably cause a rush for tickets at imperial venues like New York's Village Vanguard (where he recorded a splendid live album). And though he's appreciated as an artiste in all sorts of global locales, he's also known for being a buddy-buddy honker on bandstands of any size throughout the States. With an infectious twinkle in his eye, he recently jumped on the stage of a Manhattan club and kicked around a wealth of ideas with his longtime pal, George Garzone. The pair retooled the melody of "Have You Met Miss Jones" with delirious intricacy, and Lovano's high-spirited bluster elated the entire room. There's something resolutely guileless about the saxophonist's work; even in the most scripted settings, you never feel it puts on airs. That kind of informality helps his always heady improv seem as easily approachable as pop music.

Speak with him for awhile and you get a bead on the reason for such geniality. Lovano's a mensch, willing to listen with interest to the ideas of others. A party at his Manhattan loft a few months ago found him in a great mood. It heralded the arrival of his latest release, Celebrating Sinatra (Blue Note), and the saxophonist offered hearty bear hugs and a tasty Italian repast to the old pals, bizzers and fellow musicians in attendance. He offered opinions, too. Conversations with Lovano are usually punctuated with key words regarding his artistic MO: "options," "blend," and "variety" all have a chance of surfacing during the course of a chat. Each component reverberates in his work. He has made trio records that bounce with open-ended elan; he's recorded in quartets which squeeze novel possibilities out of that quite customary jazz setting; and he's fronted orchestras that accommodate the lilt of classical voicings while boasting the poise and drive of swing. Each gives his brawny tone and rambunctious phrases plenty of leeway. Celebrating Sinatra unites several of these varied approaches. It kicks off with a lush woodwind fantasia on "I'll Never Smile Again," and leaps right into a feisty drum/sax duet on "Chicago." The closer is a spin on "The Song Is You" that momentarily fakes a move toward rumination and then drives euphorically toward post-Rollins bliss. Sinatra, who respected the derring-do of others, would likely appreciate the album's stylistic breadth as well as the canny way in which its elements cohere.

"Something about my generation made us a bit more aware [of jazz's possibilities]," Lovano said last week. "We've had the opportunity to check out a lot of different concepts. For me, moving to New York in the mid-'70s was amazing. I had deep roots in bebop, so when I came to the city and went to places like Sam Rivers's loft, and Ali's Alley, I really had my eyes opened. It was great seeing music like that up close. My dad was strongly into Coltrane, too. Records like Ascension, and Kulu Se Mama -- I heard that stuff and simply accepted it as a part of what was happening. Playing-wise, it took me a minute to grow into that feeling, the concept of open harmony and all, but as I developed it became part of my whole language. Now I have a history to draw from that makes me able to execute certain things. Plus, having two bands at this point in my career -- a quartet and the wind ensemble -- has made me think in specific ways. I've been fortunate to be in real creative settings that help shape my concepts."

More combo? Rush Hour, which was orchestrated by the renowned Gunther Schuller, unites original Lovano pieces like the expressionistic "Topsy Turvy" and "Wildcat" with jazz nuggets such as "Prelude To a Kiss" and "Angel Eyes." Celebrating Sinatra is loaded with nifty interpretations on tunes associated with Ol' Blue Eyes. Lovano believes the intermingling of disparate elements helps create a richer repertoire.

"Doing the Sinatra project after coming off of Rush Hour tied things together both concept-wise and audience-wise," he said. "Half the people who come to hear me have never really heard standard music. We gig at a lot of colleges, especially in the States. And there, for the most part anyway, you find really young crowds who haven't heard Billy Strayhorn or Dexter Gordon. They're into fusion or freer forms -- more original music. And then there's another half of the audience that has only heard standards. It's a huge segment that simply never paid attention to modern originals. My compositions are coming from both of the sides of the fence. The combination of concepts I've put together for my audience is meant to be diverse. Maybe sometimes they scratch their head, but it's fun to play a wide variety of music in concert. I've played, studied and learned, and it's starting to take shape. Right now is a really great climate for creative music."

The summer is a the time of year when jazz musicians make the bulk of their money. When he brings his Quartet -- pianist Kenny Werner, bassist Ed Schuller and drummer Bob Meyer -- to the Greenwich Odeum on Saturday, Lovano will be between gigs at Carnegie Hall and European festivals. In other words, the performance is a major bonus for jazz fans hereabouts. He may be a star, but Lovano knows these kinds of shows, in spots that don't often host the bigger jazz names, are special.

"Gigs like this are usually put together by people who are passionate about the music," he said, "and that's what it's all about. It's the same thing you see with the musicians. If wasn't for their deep commitment, you wouldn't hear modern music, you'd only hear the commercial things that everybody else wants you to play. Through the years, that's what has made jazz great. Bird, Diz, and all the cats we look up to as improvisers? Nobody really paid them to play like that at the start. I want to play, and play creatively, for people, and I want people to be turned on to all of jazz's different elements."

There's little chance that those who walk away from Lovano's show will have any doubt that they've just heard someone who can look right, break left and come hurtling straight down the middle.

Joe Lovano will perform at the Greenwich Odeum in East Greenwich on Saturday at 8 p.m. Tickets are $20. Call 885-8160.