Jazz Police - LA Beat: The Lighthouse--A Special Tribute to Ozzie Cadena With the Tom Rizzo Quintet

On Sunday, June 22nd, the Lighthouse and Gloria Cadena held a special tribute to the popular man of jazz, Oscar “Ozzie” Cadena, who left us recently. He and his lovely wife Gloria have given a huge amount of time and effort to bringing jazz notables to both the Lighthouse and near by Sangria. They have been involved with jazz in several ways over the entire course of their lives. Bassist and humorist, Richard Simon, did the announcements at 11:00a.m., celebrating the life of Cadena. He also mentioned Howard Rumsey, in the audience, who began jazz at the Lighthouse almost 60 years ago after his long tenure on bass with Stan Kenton

Guitarist Tom Rizzo has been playing since a very early age. He has some large achievements in his career, one being a long tenure with the great Maynard Ferguson band and, another, a good amount of time on the Tonight Show. His quintet began the jazz music with a George Gershwin gem, “Soon.” Personnel included Mark Stevens on drums; Jason Flatley, piano; Chris Hackman at the bass; and Steve Huffsteter, trumpet and flugelhorn. These musicians all played great together. Their solos shined early on and the audience, filled to capacity, gave a lot of consistent applause throughout the afternoon. A pretty tune by Sam Rivers, “Beatrice,” was next. It is an identifiable piece, especially its melody. Huffsteter joined in on his flugelhorn and shared choruses with Rizzo’s splendid guitar work. I saw the rhythm section’s hard driving playing by both Hackman’s bass and Stevens’ drumming work – a very good match! Flatley’s piano work was eloquent in all his backing. His chords and right hand solo work were precise and always helpful. “I Could Write a Book,” and a not-too-well-known tune by Wes Montgomery, “Twisted Blues” in an unusual key of Gb, rocked well to close the set.

During the break, Simon told a few jokes and announced several luminaries in the audience: stellar guitarist, Dave Knoose; reedman, Phil Norman; vocalist, V. R. Smith; radio personality of many years with KKJZ, (KJAZZ), James Janisse; and Jeanne Moody, who has had summer jazz parties at her home for many years. A longtime fan, Mr. Jim, sang a song with lyrics he composed for his friend Ozzie of many years. He used the melody of “What a Wonderful World,” but titled it “Ozzie’s World.” The Lighthouse fans loved it. Howard Rumsey spoke a few moments of some history of the Lighthouse. Everyone was glad to see him again.

Probably the best tune of the afternoon, in my opinion, was a Larry Goldings’ composition titled “Subtle Digs.” It had a lot of soul and jazz feel to it. The entire quintet soloed in awesome form. Continuing with tunes “I Love You,” (C. Porter), another Gb blues (untitled) and closing the set with Kenny Barron’s jazz classic, “Voyage,” showed how strong the rhythm section was including solos and exchanged 4 bar patterns by Hackman and Stevens, with Flatley keeping the mix in perfect order. Huffsteter’s trumpet playing was distinct and very alive. Rizzo gave his absolute best throughout the tribute – an afternoon that will be remembered for a long while. See Rizzo’s website soon: www.tomrizzomusic.com and check www.thelighthousecafe.net for their calendar of jazz events.

Glenn A. Mitchell is a bassist and jazz journalist in Los Angeles. Reprinted with permission from L.A. Jazz Scene, July, 2008.