Copyright (c) 2002 Los Angeles Times)

Taking on an extended run at a jazz club would be a daunting challenge for a well-known artist. For pianist Andy Milne and his Cosmic Dapp Theory ensemble, the prospect of a four-week run at the new Rocco jazz room would seem to have its quixotic aspects.

Still, Rocco is not a particularly large room, and if the buzz gets out--as it should--about the fascinating music that is being offered by the Milne group, it might not turn out to be such a dicey booking after all.

Milne's approach to making things happen for his band hearkens back to the days before rock 'n' roll and roadies, the time when musicians packed their gear into a van and took off to find an audience. In fact, Milne, harmonica player Gregoire Maret, drummer Sean Rickman, bassist Rich Brown and rapper Kokayi arrived in town after a cross-country drive--with a stopover for a gig in Denver-- from New York City.

Musicians who experience togetherness of that sort either wind up committing mayhem on each other or discover some close personal and musical connections. In the case of Thursday night's performance by Cosmic Dapp, the latter was very much the case.

Milne has been on his own musical quest for years, his imagination enhanced by associations with saxophonists Steve Coleman and Ravi Coltrane, among others. His current group--with the exception of a new addition, drummer Rickman--is the same sterling collective he brought to Rocco in 2000, when the club was at its original Bel-Air location.

If anything, the music was even more compelling than in that original booking. Milne and his players have the capacity to perform in complex rhythms, but there was never a sense of urgency about making metric deadlines, as so often happens when musicians improvise in 5/4, 7/4, etc.

Instead, the rhythm unfolded in overlapping layers--similar in method, if different in style, to Afro-Cuban rhythms, energized by a tremendous sense of propulsion. Rickman, always maintaining the semblance of a funk groove pocket, held the other elements together as they darted back and forth in all directions.

Among other intriguing aspects about this always-fascinating ensemble: Kokayi's brisk blend of rap and scat, enlivened by a witty verbal sense of humor; Maret's passionate harmonica work, delivered in his own original style; Brown's sturdy, highly imaginative bass lines.

And, above all, Milne's keyboard work, lush with harmonies (especially during a soulful cruise through Dizzy Gillespie's "Con Alma"), a powerful central musical core for the ensemble.

Andy Milne's Cosmic Dapp Theory at Rocco, 6320 Santa Monica Blvd. Tonight at 10:30 p.m., $15; Sunday at 9:30 p.m., $10. Continuing Wednesday through Sunday, Jan. 30-Feb. 3, and Tuesdays through Saturdays, Feb. 5 through Feb. 16. (323) 804-4146.

Credit: SPECIAL TO THE TIMES