JAZZ REVIEW : Dick Hyman Whimsical at Le Cafe

There were moments at Le Cafe in Sherman Oaks on Monday night, particularly when the light was right, when you might have thought Woody Allen, not Dick Hyman, was playing the piano. Hyman’s bespectacled look, with its prominently receding hairline and bemused expression, was strikingly similar to that of the master comedian/film maker.

But the real similarity may be in terms of the size of their talents. Hyman--who has scored and/or served as musical director on several Allen films--brings a vast array of technical dexterity, historical overview and sheer whimsicality to virtually every thing he touches. Just like Allen.

Hyman’s solo piano program focused on classic American popular songs, many from the year 1937, with piano works from James P. Johnson and Willie “The Lion” Smith thrown in for seasoning. They were predictably superb. But then Hyman probably could have played scales all night, and they would have been superb, too.

Approaching his 63rd birthday, he has reached the stage at which he can bring fascinating new perspective to such familiar pieces as “What Is This Thing Called Love?” “Foggy Day” and “The Folks Who Live on the Hill.” An excursion through “Someday My Prince Will Come,” for example, shifted back-and-forth between 3/4 and 2/4 meters, while darting--like a hummingbird in search of nectar--through an ever-moving series of key changes.

Hyman confirmed his mastery by taking requests from the audience and responding, on songs like “Yesterdays,” “Georgia on My Mind” and “Ill Wind,” with miniature jewels of reconstruction.

One might carp about the almost too-meticulous, too-controlled precision of his closing up-tempo romp through “I’m Just Wild About Harry.” But it would be a very minor carp. Hyman’s occasional missteps--like Woody Allen’s--were almost as captivating as his many accomplishments.

Regrettably, Hyman’s engagement at Le Cafe was far too brief--it ended Tuesday.