By Howard Reich
Tribune arts critic
Published January 14, 2006

Only guitarist Larry Coryell can say for sure why he's sounding as refreshed and rejuvenated as he did Thursday night at the Jazz Showcase.

Perhaps it's because he nearly has completed his autobiography, which he plans to issue later this year. Or maybe he's exulting in the release of his newest CD, "Laid Back & Blues."

Whatever the reasons, the guitarist -- who played for a huge crowd at the Showcase -- turned in one of the most upbeat, uplifting sets he has given Chicago audiences in many years. That he was joined by two of his favorite Chicago players, bassist Larry Gray and drummer Paul Wertico, only heightened the exuberance of his performance.

Coryell sometimes calls this band -- which has been performing periodically for years -- The Power Trio, and it's well documented on a CD of two years ago, "Live in Chicago." As strong as that CD was, however, the trio's show Thursday night proved still more intense.

On this night, Coryell had Thelonious Monk on his mind, and he opened the show with an aggressive, no-holds-barred account of "Straight, No Chaser." Throwing off fast-flying notes with tremendous abandon, digging deeply into the trio's hard-swung rhythms, Coryell hardly took a pause between phrases.

On Monk's "Trinkle, Tinkle," the guitarist kicked up the energy level another notch, boldly articulating Monk's angular, quirky rhythms. Add to this the unconventional nature of Coryell's chords, which often teetered on the edge of outright dissonance, and listeners heard about as edgy and provocative an approach to Monk as one is likely to encounter in a mainstream room such as the Showcase.

In both Monk selections, Gray and Wertico proved nearly ideal collaborators. In essence, Coryell, Gray and Wertico immediately locked into one another's rhythmic patterns and never let go. Here was the rare guitar trio in which each player excels as soloist yet knows how to function as an imperturbable accompanist.

Once the musicmaking slowed down, in Monk's "Body and Soul," it was clear that this trio had more to offer than just high spirits and dramatic gestures. Coryell crafted melody lines of surpassing lyric beauty; Gray achieved unusually poetic phrasings, and Wertico reminded listeners of his ability to draw extraordinarily subtle colors from a drum kit.

Coryell appears to have opened a new chapter in an already storied career, and it's well worth exploring.

Larry Coryell plays through Sunday at the Jazz Showcase, 59 W. Grand Ave.; $20-$25; 312-670-2473.

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