Swingin' Good Time at Ellington Jazz Fest

Jazz festivals don't always turn out as festive as hoped, which is why having drummer Roy Haynes and reedman Paquito D'Rivera on the bill is one of the best insurance policies out there.

Among the many things the two world-renowned musicians have in common, in addition to being NEA Jazz Masters, is a contagiously lighthearted spirit that never fades in concert. It's a trait that quickly endears them to audiences, as was obvious at the Lincoln Theatre on Friday night, and one that makes their virtuosity appear as natural as drawing a breath.

The centerpiece of the second annual Duke Ellington Jazz Festival and the Washington Performing Arts Society season premiere, the concert opened with Haynes leading his Fountain of Youth Quartet through a program that, like the bandleader's own extraordinary career, spanned several generations.

Energetic, responsive and often beaming, the 81-year-old drummer nimbly referenced some key collaborators he's worked with over the years, via tunes composed by Charlie Parker, Thelonious Monk and Pat Metheny. For starters, there was Monk's "Trinkle Tinkle," vibrantly arranged, veering back and forth between turbulent rhythms and unencumbered swing. When pianist Martin Bejerano introduced a fluid, thoroughly modern improvisation, laced with fresh harmonies and chromatic flights, Haynes kept Monk's whimsical theme from disappearing entirely with a combination of splashing accents, sharp blows and staccato cadences.

Later, when the band looked to pop standards for inspiration, the results were similarly impressive. "My Heart Belongs to Daddy" was transformed into a spiraling rhapsody, stoked by Haynes's fierce attack until it finally tapered off into a simple stick-on-stick clave pattern that set the stage for "Skylark." A showcase for alto saxophonist Jaleel Shaw's seductive melodicism, the Hoagy Carmichael ballad was made all the more entrancing by Haynes's feathery brushwork and Bejerano's blues-tinged lyricism.

Guest trumpeter Roy Hargrove, who briefly and brashly augmented Haynes's quartet, ignited more fireworks during the second half of the concert when he joined D'Rivera, playing alto sax, and his United Nation Orchestra on Dizzy Gillespie's "A Night in Tunisia." In sharp contrast, "A Night in Englewood," a tune composed by D'Rivera in Gillespie's honor, was a bossa nova charmer, aglow with the sensuous tones and supple phrases the orchestra leader drew from his clarinet, right up until he fashioned an amusing quote-filled coda that enticed the delighted crowd to shout out the bop refrain "Salt Peanuts."

With both scheduled and surprise guests turning up, a traffic jam onstage cut into the orchestra's time, though several members of the 14-piece multicultural ensemble, including reed players Scott Robinson and Anat Cohen, distinguished themselves in solo spots.

The concert also held a big revelation for most listeners: the vibrantly colorful and percussive pairing of the Mexican marimba ensemble Na'Rimbo and Colombian harp virtuoso Edmar Castaneda. Together, they drew one of the evening's biggest responses by boldly recasting a Venezuelan folk tune with the orchestra's help. Singer Roberta Gambarini got a chance to shine as well. She has a lovely voice and exceptional range, but her tone proved better suited to the sunny "Chega de Saudade" than the torchy "Lover Man."

The festival concludes today with performances at the Lincoln Theatre, Willard Hotel and other locations around town.