JAZZ REVIEW : Splitting the Difference : Trolley and Tomatoes Close the Gap Between Dixieland, Fusion

DANA POINT —  Back-to-back-performances from a Dixieland quintet and an electrified fusion band at the Saturday afternoon session of the jazz festival at the Old Dana Point Cafe did as much to point out the similarities between the disparate styles as it did their differences.

Both bands--the Toonerville Trolley and the Killer Tomatoes--used the theme-improvisation format that has been a defining characteristic of jazz since its misty origins as they emphasized spontaneity and cooperative interplay despite the years separating their styles. Their sounds may have been vastly different, but their approaches to the music were not.

The Toonerville Trolley (members’ claim of 300 years’ collective musical experience must be taken with a grain of salt), whipped up a lively set of familiar Dixieland toe-tappers memorable for their simplicity. The group functioned like a chamber ensemble, contrasting counterpoints between trumpet and trombone paced by pulsing banjo chords and pinned with huff-and-puff tuba backing.

Clarinetist Bill Wood soloed alone over Jimmy Ogden’s tuba tones on “When You’re Smiling” before trombonist Don Cox joined with conversational vocals on the upbeat lyrics. Wood and Cox combined for call-and-response fills over Gary Hogan’s trumpet theme on “Bye-Bye Blackbird,” before Ogden took a punchy improv--an exercise interrupted by one group member’s calling it “the double hernia tuba solo.” Hogan, playing the compact “pocket” trumpet, added sweet muted tones to “Exactly Like You.”

The group, pushed by percussive strumming from banjo player Jerry Horton, worked its fastest tempo on “Avalon,” then contrasted that up-tempo number with a languid “Up a Lazy River,” which featured Wood’s nostalgic clarinet solo. Wood, making a comment on the cost of dating, got a few laughs when he inserted the lead from “Somebody Stole My Gal” into “I Can’t Give You Anything but Love.”

The Killer Tomatoes, led by bassist Baba Elefante and featuring Kilauea saxophonist Greg Vail, also worked mostly from a standard repertoire, finding common ground on tunes such as “Autumn Leaves” and “Blue Monk.” The reliance on familiar numbers was because of the absence of Tomatoes’ regular guitarist, Chris Bailey, who was replaced by keyboardist Ron Kobayashi. The group didn’t avoid its original material entirely, however. Elefante’s “Highway 133,” with Vail’s soprano lead, was a pleasant-enough ballad with a strong chorus that affirmed the piece’s considered beginnings.

The program offered an opportunity to hear Vail, who’s also been heard locally with fluegelhornist Tony Guerrero’s band, working in a more traditional context. Vail, playing a beautiful black tenor on “Blue Monk,” avoided the kind of high-end excitement he applies to more predictable rhythmic material. Instead, he explored the tune’s melodic side with short runs and warbling clusters of notes. He took a funkier approach on Grover Washington Jr.’s “Dr. J,” rolling out series of phrases as he rocked on his heels.

Elefante, an electric bassist with stylistic ties to the late Jaco Pastorius, worked sharp, deep tones in support while soloing in the upper ranges of his instrument. He decorated his solo on “Some Other Time” with ringing double stops, and his no-nonsense walk during “Autumn Leaves” opened up the tune for Vail and Kobayashi. Drummer Steve Dixon showed admirable restraint, putting snappy brushwork into quieter numbers and picking up the dynamics on the more up-tempo ones.

The festival also featured Saturday evening performances by Bobby Redfield and the Garcia Brothers Latin Jazz Band, and Sunday sets by the Rags Martinson Trio, the Brazilian trio Rio Azul, and the Sandy Owen Band.