Jazz Review : The Happy Man at the Piano? Why, That’s Jeff Goldblum

What do you do when playing jazz gives you a tremendous high, but you’ve got this other career as a movie star to worry about? When booking a gig under your name is sure to draw crowds of fans who are not necessarily present to revel in your skills as a jazz pianist?

Simple. Put together a band of talented young players and give them a diversionary title--something like “The Mildred Snitzer Orchestra.”

Which is exactly what actor Jeff Goldblum has been doing for the past year or so, first at Lucky 7 and now at Fenix Rising in the Argyle on the Sunset Strip. And on Monday night, despite the Labor Day holiday, the Snitzer quintet (reportedly named after a neighbor from Goldblum’s childhood) drew the kind of young, upscale crowd that most jazz venues would be delighted to see, a crowd straight out of the nightclub scenes in “Ally McBeal.”

Although Goldblum is a modest jazz talent, at best, he’s far too musically sophisticated to assume that his audience was as fascinated by his piano playing as it was by his sheer presence as an A-list celebrity. But, to his credit, he remained completely immersed in his playing whenever he was on stage, his head bobbing and weaving, body moving rhapsodically with the music, a satisfied smile frequently crossing his face. The very image, in fact, of a happy man.

And why not? His first-rate band included guitarist Anthony Wilson, tenor saxophonist Lincoln Adler, bassist Tim Emmons and drummer Mark Ferber, and the setup at Fenix Rising was relaxed and laid-back, far more like a jam session than a formal gig.

The tunes--mostly standards such as “Stella by Starlight,” “The Days of Wine and Roses” and “I Can’t Get Started”--were picked spontaneously and played without formal arrangements, an approach that often resulted in long, vamped endings that continued on and on until one of the players finally brought them to a close. At one point, a piece that started out as a loose harmonic pattern eventually evolved into “Sweet Georgia Brown.”

The soloing by Adler and Wilson, in particular, was crisp and articulate, and Emmons and Ferber played with a mixture of rhythmic drive and constant musical alertness. Goldblum tended to take a subsidiary role, focusing on accompaniment, occasionally soloing in spare, chord-based fashion.

But his celebrity status aside, Goldblum was clearly not functioning in a vanity situation. His playing was appropriately tailored to his skill level, and his dedication to the music was front and center. Will his regular appearances with the Snitzer ensemble bring new listeners to jazz? Maybe, maybe not. But at least he’s trying, and he sure seems to be having fun while doing so.

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* The Mildred Snitzer Orchestra (the Jeff Goldblum Quintet) at Fenix Rising at the Argyle, 8358 Sunset Blvd. Monday nights at 10. No cover. Thursday nights at the same venue, the Billy Mitchell Group and Barbara Morrison and her band. (323) 654-7100.