Dating back to the pre-Depression era of the 1920s and evolving out of much of the Blues work of the time from such greats as Bessie Smith, Billie Holiday, or Ella Fitzgerald, there is a continuity about jazz that transcends generations and time, possibly accounting for its tremendous popularity to this day.

The venerability of the genre might also account for a modern-day jazz revivalism, of sorts, as seen in emerging new groups such as Jazzology, committed to devoting themselves to helping preserve the music of bygone years.

Currently playing Saturday nights at M.R. Onions, the eight-week-old Jazzology consists of four very talented young musicians, 21-year-old piano prodigy James Richardson, Kevin Maybury on drums, Clarence Burrows on bass, and Deletta (no relation to Dizzie) Gillespie singing vocals.

Together, the quartet presents a dynamic and forceful performance without being overpowering, which can either be taken as a pleasant backdrop to an evening of fine dining, or as an entertainment event on its own merits over drinks in the lounge.

The group made its second M.R. Onions appearance this past Saturday evening, giving the audience more than two dozen songs ranging from the instrumental "In A Mellow Tone'' by Duke Ellington to start off the evening, to faster-paced vocal numbers such as "Take The A-Train'' and "Cherokee''.

The group also performed Dizzie (no relation to Deletta) Gillespie's "Night In Tunisia'', and some pleasantly unique renditions of old standards such as "Misty'', and "Georgia On My Mind''.

Each of the Jazzologists (all Bermudian except for American-born Deletta) have obviously been plying their craft for some time -- James started playing the piano at age 11 and Deletta has appeared onstage with the likes of Bobby McFerrin ("Don't Worry, Be Happy'') in 1986 -- but the group itself only got together about eight weeks ago as the brainchild of Clarence and Kevin.

And unfortunately, as new as the group is, it already has a limited life-span with the current four members as James will be returning to the Berkley College of Music in Boston in September for his second year of study. James wasn't able to return this year, and as Clarence says, "his misfortune was our fortune.'' "We all had a hunger to play this kind of music and it just kind of came together like a magnet,'' Kevin says.

That "kind of music'' includes a wide diversity of music falling under the umbrella of what the group refers to as "traditional jazz''. That means they take music from the "Bop'' era and emulate the greats, such as John Coltrane, or the ballads of Sarah Vaughn, Kevin says. But their repertoire also includes what might be considered by some as more contemporary numbers such as "Route 66'' which they did an excellent job of by request on Saturday, or a jazzed-up version of "My Favourite Things'' in a way you'd never expect to hear in the Rogers and Hammerstein musical "The Sound of Music''.

One of the nice things about jazz as a music genre, the group says, is that you can take just about any tune and, with a few chord structure adaptations, make a jazz song out of it. In fact, many of the songs now considered jazz standards originally came from show tunes of the '30s and '40s, the group says.

"It's a matter of interpretation, basically,'' Deletta says.

If you've missed the first two shows at M.R. Onions, don't worry.

Restaurant general manager Frank Schmitz plans to continue the Saturday night entertainment with a possibility of expanding it to other nights of the week and including different types of music than jazz.

Mr. Schmitz knew Clarence from working at Loquats during the mid-1980s and liked the idea suggested by Clarence of bringing the newly-formed jazz group into M.R. Onions.

"What impressed me was that they play a lot of classical jazz, some of the old numbers, some Gershwins,'' he says.

He also says he agrees with a recent government position paper on competitiveness which suggests that more entertainment is needed for tourists, and adds that he feels restaurant owners have a responsibility to deliver that entertainment at a reasonable cost to their patrons.

There is no cover charge planned for Saturdays at M.R. Onions.

As a new group, Jazzology is still growing and finding its niche in the Bermuda music scene. No doubt as they become better known, audiences will be able to see more of the group at other locations around the Island.

JEFF KOLLER