JAZZ REVIEW : Honor and Applause for Teddy Edwards

After a lifetime of labor in jazz, tenor saxophonist Teddy Edwards was honored by his hometown Tuesday with a proclamation from Mayor Tom Bradley and a lifetime achievement award from the musician’s union, a union that once wouldn’t have him as a member because of his color.

So how does a working musician spend a day that honors him? He spends it working--in this case at the Biltmore Hotel’s Grand Ave. Bar, where a packed house enthusiastically greeted the saxophonist’s brand of straightahead jazz.

“Oh man,” said Edwards before his hourlong opening set,” in Europe I could work all the time. Here it’s tougher, but I’m not gonna move to Europe, even though they’re always telling me I should. I figure I got one big payday here.”

Though it’s doubtful his big payday was Tuesday, Edwards, the lone horn in an acoustic quartet, proved himself once again as the hard-working saxophonist whose metier embraces the three Bs of jazz: be-bop, ballads and the blues.

“Jordu,” an up-tempo piece by Duke Jordan, served as the set’s opener and introduced the impressive piano skills of Eric Reed. Edwards, feet firmly planted on the stage, closed his eyes and delivered the first of several brief solos, limiting his improvised excursions to a couple of choruses.

A pair of Edward’s compositions followed: “Get Up and Get It,” was a fast-paced blues, and “Sunset Eyes,” a piece Edwards first performed with the original Clifford Brown-Max Roach Quintet in 1954. Both pieces showed Edward’s sense of innovation as a writer (especially the latter tune, which featured a back-and-forth flow of Latin and swing rhythms) and each served as good solo vehicles for the saxophonist and pianist.

A contrast of styles was evidenced in Edward’s inclusion of Miles Davis’s “Half Nelson,” an easily paced bop tune, and “Going Home,” a briskly paced swinger that showed a more modernist side.

The set’s only ballad inclusion was “You Are Too Beautiful,” a gorgeous, languid piece in which Edward’s sultry tones were given full exposure in an unaccompanied cadenza.

Pianist Reed proved himself a marvelous soloist throughout the set and provided apt accompaniment, easily picking up on Edward’s style. Bassist Tom Gargano and drummer Ralph Penland also performed well, with the latter spurring the rhythms with flawless ease.