JAZZ REVIEWS : DUDLEY MOORE: PLAYING FOR PLEASURE

The occasional appearances of Dudley Moore as a musician offer a needed reminder of several mildly significant points, all of which surfaced during his two-night stint (Saturday and Sunday) at the Loa in Santa Monica.

First, it becomes immediately evident that music is no casual plaything for him, any more than it was when he earned a full-time living in the bands of John Dankworth and others in England. Moore’s confident style and assured technique reflect an uninterrupted dedication to what has long since become a secondary profession.

Second, it is manifest that he plays for pleasure. When any top-echelon movie star works with a jazz trio in a relatively small nightclub, obviously he is motivated less by the sound of rustling dollar bills than by the reaction of an enthusiastic audience.

The applause was thoroughly earned as he wove his way through a series of standard songs, interrupted here and there by the predictably witty announcements and, once, by a comedy vocal.

As he has long made clear, Moore has an ongoing passion for the sound of the late Erroll Garner. His long strings of octave chords, the easygoing two-beat swing he brings to his medium tempos, leave no doubt that this was his special source of inspiration. With Garner gone more than 10 years, and with very few pianists offering more than occasional tributes, Moore’s affection for him is not only welcome but logical, since humor was a central element in the Garner personality.

Moore is, however, by no means limited to secondhand artistry. His “Ruby” reflected a genuine affection for the ballad mood, which he established first with simple single-note lines, never straying far from the melody. His George Gershwin medley was well diversified, with a jaunty two-beat “Summertime,” an unconventionally sedate “Lady Be Good” and Ray Brown easing into “Porgy” with a bowed bass solo.

Responding readily to a crowd reluctant to let him go, Moore announced a Beethoven sonata but proceeded to tear into a hilarious sendup of the “River Kwai March,” complete with a dozen false endings. In response to cries of “Moore! Moore!” he removed tongue from cheek to offer, as a second encore, “Please Don’t Talk About Me When I’m Gone.”

Frank Severino’s dependable drumming completed the trio, which, in a show of effort unusual for such a brief gig, obviously had taken the trouble to rehearse.

Incidentally, Moore has a pretty powerful following: Frank Sinatra dropped by to catch the second show Sunday after this reviewer had left.