JAZZ REVIEW : Lanny Morgan Proves a Take-Charge Kind of Guy

COSTA MESA —  Alto saxophonist Lanny Morgan made an impression even before his first set at Vinnie’s Ristorante began. With just a few warm-up lines while he waited for his band mates to settle in, Morgan demonstrated a firm, commanding tone and an agile way of working through long, complex phrases that were impressive despite the lack of context.

So when the full quartet moved into its up-tempo, be-bop driven opener Friday, it was no surprise that Morgan took off on his instrument, swirling through long, meaningful lines with the greatest of ease, occasionally emphasizing an idea with up-register cries and overtones. His insistent, cover-all-the-bases style, rife with blues phrasing and allusions to other tunes, is the kind of sound that gives pause: Maybe the legacy of Charlie Parker will live on forever.

That Morgan speaks bop with the best of them should be no surprise as well. He grew up in Los Angeles during the height of the be-bop era and later honed his chops with the bands of Charlie Barnet, Terry Gibbs and Bob Florence. He spent a number of years in the ‘60s while based in New York as principal soloist in trumpeter Maynard Ferguson’s band.

In the last several years, he has been seen working with fellow alto-man Med Flory’s be-bop happy brass ensemble Supersax, and he and Flory have an ongoing engagement every Wednesday at Jax in Glendale, where they co-lead a quintet.

But Morgan’s stint, which also included a Saturday show, at Vinnie’s was a chance to see him on his own terms, coming together with like-minded musicians in an informal, jam-like session.

With the always amazing Ron Eschete on guitar, drummer Jay Lecaire and bassist Luther Hughes on the upright bass, Morgan didn’t disappoint, playing in the confident tones of a fast-talking pitchman with a whole lot of product to sell. Needless to say, he found plenty of buyers in the appreciative, room-filling audience.

Wearing a gray jacket and blue shirt open at the throat, Morgan hunched his shoulders nearly to his ears as he rambled into Parker’s “Scrapple From the Apple,” each passage played with an easy grace despite the frantic tempo.

On “Lover Man,” Morgan showed a talent for wringing all the salt from the tune’s theme line, continuing phrases with a brilliant turn just when you thought he could take it no further. Morgan brought reserve to a Brazilian-flavored version of “Autumn Leaves,” adding scattered rhythmic accents and abbreviating the familiar theme at times for variation.

Eschete continues to be one of the most pleasing guitarists and improvisers of any instrumental kind on the local scene. His solos alternated wily, note-at-a-time excursions with chordal strums or moments of rich harmonic constructions. Eschete has a propensity to quote from other tunes during his solos in a way that isn’t forced or contrived. And he seems especially attune to bassist Hughes--both are members of pianist Gene Harris’ much traveled quartet--a fact most apparent as the two exchanged ideas behind drummer Lecaire on “Scrapple.”

The group gave a fine airing of “My Romance,” with Morgan showing some of the same sensitivity the late, revered pianist Bill Evans brought to the number. Lecaire used the tune’s more moderate tempo to color his sound with cymbal shading and tom-tom color while Hughes, probably best known in his home country for electric bass work, showed melodic sense and some impressive chops to boot on the big, acoustic instrument.