Pianist Karush Stretches Out, Luxuriously

There are a lot of ways to slip outside the envelope of mainstream jazz improvising. Unrestricted, kick out the jams, totally free playing is one; modal improvising is another; playing on feelings instead of notes is a third; and so on.

Pianist-composer Larry Karush takes a somewhat different route, using elements from a variety of methods. There is, first, his unusual choice of instrumentation. In his appearance at Rocco in Bel-Air Friday night, he performed in the company of an ensemble that included three percussionists, bass and his own piano.

With the drummers providing a texturally rich carpet of sound and rhythm, Karush played a series of original works in which he improvised freely over repeated melodic vamps. The technique was surprisingly effective, allowing Karush to stretch out freely, frequently indulging in wild flights of pianistic fancy. Visions of Cecil Taylor crept into his solos, at times, especially when he verged toward the expression of sheer tonal textures. But he often switched gears suddenly, moving into brief bursts of hard-swinging bop lines. Supplemented by the persistent and usually accessible accompaniment of rhythm and vamping, the approach allowed Karush to stretch out freely, while still offering material that established a strong connective link with his listeners.

The decision to provide these sorts of improvisational setups tended to give Karush’s compositions the quality of introductions and interludes rather than fully realized works. Not a problem for most of the pieces, since his spontaneous passages were generally so well done. But the most extended work of the set--a multi-part piece titled “The Salsa Way”--pushed the method a bit too far and too long. The only overdone item in the set, it failed to have the impact of Karush’s smaller, more concise efforts.