Jazz Reviews : Azymuth Offers a Modest Brazilian Sampler

Azymuth, the Brazilian jazz/funk/samba trio, has changed only slightly in recent years, seeming to profess the adage, “If it works, don’t fix it.� Before a modest house at Samba y Saudade Friday, pianist Jose Roberto Bertrami, bassist Alex Mahlieros and drummer Ivan Conti delivered an opening set that exploited the facets that have made the band, which tours the States about once a year, increasingly popular.

As much a group designed for dancing as it is an easy-listening combo, Azymuth continues to rely on groove and feeling for much of its Brazilian cocktail jazz effect. Working over firm rhythmic moods established by his cohorts, featured soloist Bertrami--who can play jack-rabbit lines, as he did occasionally--preferred simpler statements that were often rehashes of the melody. These passages, while pleasant, weren’t exactly heavy with content.

But Bertrami has a penchant for picking good notes and possesses a solid time sense, so that his solos had a melodic warmth and rhythmic smoothness that, in part, made up for their lack of intellectual interest.

On tunes like Dave Brubeck’s “Bossa Nova USA,� Jobim’s “Song of the Jet� and Marvin Gaye’s “What’s Goin’ On?,� Bertrami’s improvisations varied between melody notes, punchy repeated figures, cascading chord clusters and cleanly articulated single-note runs, all nicely organized, if a bit flaccid. But Mahlieros and Conti kept their soloist safe and secure with a rhythmic interchange that was often easily as zestful as Bertrami’s statements.

Samba Y Saudade, located in Hollywood Live, 6840 Hollywood Blvd., has been offering Brazilian artists on Fridays for several months. The next scheduled act is the Bahia New Band, with former members of Novos Bainos, on July 15.