Pianist Tamir Hendelman represents another in an ongoing series of masterful international improvisers whose presence is a tribute to jazz's global impact. Hendelman wasn't introduced to the music through sneaking into clubs as a teen or sitting up late nights catching broadcasts, but by hearing the joyous sounds of Count Basie as a young boy when he was a student at the Anazagi Conservatory in Tel Aviv, Israel.

By 14, his parents having relocated from Israel to Los Angeles, Hendelman became a national sensation after winning a Yamaha keyboard contest. He's steadily emerged as a master soloist and accompanist, occupying the piano chair in two of jazz's premier ensembles (The Jeff Hamilton Trio and the John Clayton-Jeff Hamilton Orchestra). He's also the keyboardist of choice for many great pop and jazz vocalists, having appeared either on recordings or in performance with Diana Krall, Jackie Ryan, Natalie Cole, Michael Buble and lately no less than Barbra Streisand on her recent Love Is The Answer CD.

Yet Hendelman, who'll be returning to Music City and appearing at the Nashville Jazz Workshop's Jazz Cave Saturday night in a special one-night engagement with bassist Roger Spencer and drummer Marcus Finnie, doesn't cite either great pianists or singers as the primary inspiration for his impeccable technique and flamboyant, yet controlled and dynamic approach. Instead, he's a devotee of the big band, and tries to funnel that influence into everything he does.

"Count Basie's orchestra got me hooked on jazz, and the big band remains for me the greatest thing in the music," Hendelman said during a recent interview. "The colors, the sounds, the rhythm options are so diverse with a big band, and yet you to have listen very closely and stay attuned to what everyone else is doing to find out where you fit in and what your response should be musically."

From drummer Jeff Hamilton, Hendelman says, he’s learned the virtue of keeping close tabs on what his collaborators are playing.

"That's what I've tried to do with my trio, both when I'm leading my own group and also playing with him and [bassist] John [Clayton],” Hendelman explains. “They've been so important in my development as a musician, giving me freedom within the song, yet also being sure to let me know if I've done something that doesn't really work within what they're trying to do. Being in both the trio and the orchestra has been the greatest preparation for getting out and doing my own music."

Lately he's been doing plenty of that. His first CD Playground teamed him with old friends Clayton and Hamilton, and it's an excellent showcase for both the range of styles Hendelman enjoys and the wealth of postures he can take either as a leader of accompanist. He can engage in rousing rhythmic exchanges as he swaps licks with Hamilton on "I'm Old Fashioned," or deliver spry, joyous melodic forays as he does on "I'm Getting Sentimental Over You" and "Singin' In The Rain."

He's also a gifted arranger, sometimes taking a classic like Horace Silver's "Cape Verdean Blues" and reducing it to its harmonic foundations. On other numbers, such as "Tiger's Lair" or "Playground," his pieces provide maximum space for vigorous solo sections but equal amounts of time to precise unison passages and forceful trio interaction.

Hendelman has both extensive playing experience and academic training, having studied at Tanglewood and the prestigous Eastman School of Music, where one of his teachers was the great bassist Ron Carter. He downplays any notion he's become a star on the jazz horizon — even though every vocalist he's backed offers high praise for his sympathetic fills and supportive assistance. Other ace bandleaders, such as musician John Pizzarelli, tab him whenever possible for collaborations (like Pizzarelli’s acclaimed 2006 release Dear Mr. Sinatra).

But Hendelman's now looking toward the release later this year of his next trio work with bassist Marco Panascia and drummer Lewis Nash.

"Both these guys are great players and listeners, and that's something that was key in terms of choosing people to play with on any project," Hendelman says. "When you've been working as long as I have with Jeff and John, you can't really get comfortable with people who don't listen and are more concerned with their own statements than with the quality of the music. Both Marco and Lewis are able to fit their own personalities into whatever is being played and do it with style.

"I'm also looking forward to playing with Roger and Marcus," Hendelman concludes. "They are also outstanding players and good listeners, and I think people in Nashville are going to really enjoy what we do Saturday night."

Tickets are $25. Things get underway at 8 p.m. Call 242-5299 for more details.

‘Wolfman’ a doggone shame

Joe Johnston's The Wolfman was supposed to be released in November 2008, but for reasons known only to the studio it was constantly pushed back until just last week. Whatever the reason, the delay didn't help much, even with the hiring of a new team of editors and another cut. While technically this makes the 1941 original look like, well, the 1941 original, it's otherwise not nearly as gripping or compelling, even though longtime Wolfman aficionado Benicio del Toro lobbied for years to get this ostensible tribute made.

Del Toro makes a decent doomed sort as Lawrence Talbot, a man seeking rational answers in a situation where insanity and absurdity are the norm. After his brother Ben is bitten by a werewolf and disappears. Lawrence decides to find out what happened to him, only to get caught in a tangle of family intrigue, deception and murder. He eventually suffers the same fate as his brother and tries in vain to convince skeptics that he's truly cursed — i.e., he’s become a dangerous killer, not a moonstruck loon.

Anthony Hopkins has a grand time cavorting around the set, and Emily Blunt makes a sympathetic and endearing ingenue as Ben's former fiancée. At no time, however, are you drawn into this version of The Wolfman the way Lon Chaney Jr.'s rampages captivated audiences. Hopkins called the old Wolfman's presentation "a bit corny" in some publicity interviews, and there's no doubt the 2010 period piece is better photographed, has more startling transformative sequences and special effects, extra sonic punch, and does a sharper job of conveying the atmosphere of late 19th century London. But it lacks its predecessor's soul or edge, and most certainly will not be as fondly remembered. Nor will del Toro make anyone forget Lon Chaney Jr. (though Gene Simmons as the voice of the Wolfman delivers some pretty chilling yells and howls).

‘Shutter Island’ soundtrack ahoy

Most soundtracks these days have minimal, if any, connection to the film, designed more as auxillary vehicles to sell records in case the movie bombs. But the sinister aura conveyed on the two-CD Shutter Island — Music From The Motion Picture (Rhino) seems specific to the sense of horror, mystery and chaos evident in the movie’s teasers.

Producer Robbie Robertson enlists such participants as the San Francisco Symphony ("Cjhristian Zeal and Activity"), National Polish Radio Symphony ("Symphony No. 3: Passacaglia Allegro Moderato") and the Orchestra of St. Luke's ("Fog Tropes"). The distinguished Edo de Waart, Antonio Wit and John Adams elicit soaring, robust and occasionally eerie passages from these august ensembles that buttress the songs’ suggestive titles. When the menu shifts to more modern tastes, selections include Lonnie Johnson's teeming blues work "Tomorrow Night," Dinah Washington's moody "This Bitter Earth" (at a slower tempo than usual) and Johnnie Ray's ecstatic '50s pop hit "Cry," plus Kay Starr's "Wheel of Fortune" and Brian Eno's "Lizard Point" for thematic diversity and adventure. If the movie itself features such an impressive array of moods and tones, we’ll be revisiting Shutter Island often.

Music Books of the Week

How The Beatles Destroyed Rock 'N' Roll — An Alternative History of American Popular Music, by Elijah Wald (Oxford)

Elijah Wald enjoys skewering conventional rock orthodoxy, even if his own alternative theories may be just as debatable. His latest book isn't quite as scandalous as the title indicates, though he poses controversial notions: it's more a look at the evolution of popular music through the eyes of writer and guitarist Wald, who is more interested in assessing how average record buyers and music fans reacted to songs than the impact visionary artists had on their musical followers.

For instance, he's more appreciative of Paul Whiteman than most jazz critics, seeing him as the chronicler of tunes and songs that helped popularize the music rather than a lightweight whose fame was mainly due to being white in an art form created by blacks. Wald has more of these eyebrow-raising theories, among them his contention that The Beatles’ hegemony in the '60s led to a resegregation of radio formats, and his assertion that Duke Ellington and Count Basie were more important as makers of dance rather than art music. Agree or disagree with Wald as you will, but he makes intriguing, often convincing cases for his viewpoints.

The Jazz Book — From Ragtime to the 21st Century (7th Edition), by Joachim-Ernst Berendt and Gunther Huesmann (Lawrence Hill)

Throughout much of the 20th century, Joachim-Ernst Berendt's exhaustive The Jazz Book ranked among the most definitive works ever done on the idiom, especially coming out of Europe. Now revised and revamped, Berendt and fellow scribe Gunther Huesmann’s book breaks down every fiber, fabric, player and theme in jazz circles, having added chapters on the '90s and developments in the early part of the 21st century.

With specific chapters devoted to instruments, elements, key musicians, large and small bands and male and female vocalists, The Jazz Book leaves no area uncovered. It's written for non-musicians, though not in a manner that would insult readers who understand transcriptions, chord changes and other nomenclature. While award-winning critic Gary Giddins' new massive work Jazz will probably soon be deemed the definitive work in the field, for those seeking a basic yet thorough volume the latest incarnation of The Jazz Book fits the bill quite nicely.

Radio choices for weekend listening

Terrestial shows

Nashville Jumps (Fridays 8 a.m., WRVU-FM 91.1)
Mellow Madness (Saturdays 6 p.m., WFSK-FM 88.1)
Thistle and Shamrock (Saturdays 7 p.m., WPLN-FM 90.3)
Bluegrass Breakdown (Saturdays 8 p.m., WPLN-FM 90.3)
American Routes (Saturdays 9 p.m., WPLN-FM 90.3)
Bobby Jones Gospel Countdown (Sundays 5 a.m., WFSK-FM 88.1FM)
Jazz On the Side (Sundays 12 noon, WMOT-FM 89.5)
Sentimental Sundays (Sundays 2 p.m. WFSK-FM, 88.1)

Internet shows

Portraits in Blue (Saturdays 6 a.m. WBGO.org)
Rhythm Revue (Saturdays 8 a.m., WDCB.org)
Amazing Grace (Sundays 7 a.m., KFPK.org)

Satellite radio shows

The Blue Note Hour (Sundays 8 a.m., Sirius XM Real Jazz 70)