POP AND JAZZ REVIEWS : PASS AT LE BOUVIER’S

Is everybody down and out in Beverly Hills?

If not, how does one explain that the presence Friday at Le Bouvier’s Beverly Hills Saloon of Joe Pass, who has packed the great concert halls of the world, attracted half a house?

It was not the happiest of occasions for the guitarist, playing the first evening of a two-night stand. Still suffering from jet lag after arriving from Germany, hampered by sound problems (particularly toward the end of the set when he was joined by Pat Senatore on bass and John Nolan on drums), Pass nevertheless was not far from optimum form.

His perfect transitions from chordal rungs to fleet single note lines from deft finger work to plectrum passages and back, were displayed in a casually chosen set of standards and blues, interspersed with Brazilian songs by Milton Nascimento and Ivan Lins.

One devastating interlude was an informal blues-with-a-bridge-theme flight at such a frantic pace and with such dazzling celerity that Pass, possessor of a dry sense of humor, followed it with a couple of anecdotes about the mechanics of playing fast.

Speed, of course, has never been his main objective. Such ballads as “I’m Glad There Is You” furnished reminders of his striking harmonic imagination.

As Pass closed with another no-notes-barred foray, this time on Sonny Rollins’ “Oleo,” it was possible to infer that he was not unhappy about bringing the performance to a close. Given the circumstances, he could hardly be blamed.