Carmel Palladium return: J@LC Orchestra sharpens its image amid outpourings of skill and energy

View of most of the Jazz at Lincoln Center ensemble, with nearly all players shown having played the Palladium concert. Artistic director Wynton Marsalis is at the upper left.

Ten years ago last month, Wynton Marsalis led the Jazz at Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra in concert at the Carmel Palladium. Of course, the theme was Christmas music, but somewhat removed from conventional treatment and a predictable play list.

As the band returned to the Allied Solutions Center for the Performing Arts Saturday night, I was not  surprised to encounter a totally different program, since holiday music gets a welcome rest for several months. And it's evident that J@LCO has built a sizable book over 30 years in the business under the trumpeter-composer's direction. Thus it has much to offer, as well as a mix of relative newcomers and old-timers in the personnel to play it all.

Two of them — trumpeter Ryan Kisor and baritone saxophonist Paul Nedzela — were featured in an unusual dip into the mainstream, small-group past. They played  the Hoagy Carmichael evergreen "Stardust" in the manner of Chet Baker and Gerry Mulligan during the baritone saxophonist's pathbreaking pianoless quartet days. The tribute had its own special magic, with more than a nostalgic aura, the horns interweaving with rhythm-section accompaniment.

For the most part, we heard the band in full, 15 expert players. Another exception: A third of the group were the saxophonists, led by altoist Sherman Irby. With exquisite balance they were featured as a whole in Thelonious Monk's "Ugly Beauty," adding a touch of delicacy as they took solo turns, a phrase at a time, during one chorus.

Solos were generally well-distributed, with a special showcase reserved for  trumpeter Marcus Printup, a veteran member going back 30 years, in the Benny Golson classic, "I Remember Clifford," a ballad written in honor of another trumpeter, the short-lived Clifford Brown. 

The leader himself shone in  several solos, notably exuberant in Dizzy Gillespie's "Things to Come." The explosive arrangement used to be a J@LCO rave-up for Jon Faddis. Marsalis, whose virtuosity is never in doubt, did a creditable approach to Faddisism, flying high but stopping short of stratospheric screams and ripping off some "Carnival of Venice"-style passages.

Drawing on the Gillespie treasure-trove earlier, the band offered the Latin-inflected "Guarachi Guaro," with coordinated vocal outbursts of the title from the band. Dan Nimmer's deep-delving piano solo was one of his several fine turns in the spotlight. The accents and rhythmic drive in Obed Calvaire's drumming obviated the need for special idiomatic percussion — he did all that was required behind the conventional drum set. The other member of the rhythm section was another adept veteran, bassist Carlos Henriquez.

Marsalis commendably avoided drawing upon the repertoire of Duke Ellington, his big-band idol. Not that such tributes are in any sense undeserved. It's just that there's so much else in the J@LCO tool kit. There are not many other large jazz ensembles from whom you will hear the likes of Lennie Tristano's "Wow" or Charlie Parker's "Klactoveedsedstene." The challenges of both tunes were readily met with aplomb.

Part of Marsalis' focus is not only covering the jazz heritage well, but also imparting it to the younger generation. He and his band reached out to area students in a sound check earlier in the day, and the Noblesville High School Jazz Orchestra opened the Palladium concert offering two well-managed, upbeat numbers with some effervescent soloing, especially from an alto saxophonist.