The Year in Review: For jazz, a year of retreat, but with glimmers of promise. : New Music Thrived; Traditional Went Begging

Sometimes, it’s feast and famine. Fans of straight-ahead jazz found slim pickings during 1994. But a fat schedule of contemporary jazz during the year had its fans cheering.

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When Newport Beach’s Cafe Lido closed in February, the county lost one of its last bastions of straight-ahead music. In its final days, the Lido had sought to build its attendance with more blues, Latin and R & B bands, but still, it could be counted on for both its traditional Sunday jam sessions and solid local performers doing straight-ahead a number of nights each week. The cafe had also occasionally hosted nationally known performers such as pianist Mose Allison, percussionist Poncho Sanchez and the Four Freshmen. But no more.

To make things worse for the purists among us, the Jazz at the Hyatt summer concert series--a program that during its three-year association with jazz radio KLON-FM had included such names as trumpeter Art Farmer, pianist Jay McShann and bassist Charlie Haden’s Quartet West--was refashioned to attract a younger audience. In 1994, its billings included such acts as electric bassist Marcus Miller, saxophonist Dave Koz and Earth Wind & Fire vocalist Philip Bailey.

The folks who put on the Hyatt series weren’t the only ones bullish on fusion, contemporary and world-beat jazz (or New Adult Contemporary, as it’s dubbed by broadcasters and record distributors.) The first Southern California Jazz Festival, held outdoors in May at Irvine’s Koll Center, would have been a three-day, backbeat-heavy fiesta if rain hadn’t washed out the opening night’s program. As it was, the weather-plagued, poorly attended festival brought in a host of recognizable names from the contemporary and WAVE-station playlist.

Even more promising for these fans was the establishment of the Galaxy Concert Theatre on the site of the former Rhythm Cafe in Santa Ana. Since opening earlier this month, the Galaxy has already presented the likes of cross-cultural guitar duo Strunz and Farah, R & B saxophonist Richard Elliot and a split bill with guitarist Norman Brown and saxophonist Boney James. The Galaxy, a sister club to the Coach House, is an ideal spot for this kind of music, large enough to hold its considerable audience but small enough to provide a personal feel to its shows.

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Add the Galaxy and Coach House shows to the continuing six-day a week bookings at Randell’s in Santa Ana (as well as occasional contemporary appearances at Steamer’s in Fullerton and Cafe Concerto in Costa Mesa) and the opportunities for hearing fusion and other forms of pop-jazz and world-beat influenced music were there for the taking.

But not everything was upbeat on the contemporary scene during the year.

Mucho Gusto, the Costa Mesa restaurant that featured such world-beat and pop jazz artists as guitarist Ricardo Silveira and saxophonist Hollis Gentry, shut its doors in January. No club has quite stepped forward to fill the void in Pan American-influenced sounds once offered at Gusto.

On the other hand, not everything was bleak for the jazz purists.

Kikuya Japanese Restaurant in Huntington Beach began serving up straight-ahead jazz on a regular basis in August, and its bookings have evolved since then to include a number of fine Southern California-based artists, including saxophonists Sam Most and Buddy Collette, pianist Ross Tompkins and bassist Art Davis. Most have been featured on weekends with guitarist Doug MacDonald’s strong trio, usually with bassist Jack Prather and drummer Nick Martinis.

Kikuya’s intimate lounge provides for the direct jazz experience, where you can perch with your favorite beverage and watch the sweat break out on the brow of the performer du jour . And Thursday nights take on a jam-session feel as vocalist Jack Wood’s “Jazz Party” welcomes different singers and accompanying pianists before opening up the microphone to other professional crooners and instrumentalists.

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As is often true in the jazz world, gold is where you find it. Distinguished pianist Walter Norris, visiting California on a whirlwind tour from his German home last August, was a surprise booking at Spaghettini in Seal Beach, playing solo on the Italian eatery’s cranky keyboard in one of the year’s top shows.

Spaghettini’s bookings, under the direction of bassist Bobby Haynes--who leads combos there every Saturday--have become steadily more attractive, with Haynes bringing in such respected Southern California musicians during the year as saxophonist Dale Fielder, pianist-vocalist Betty Bryant, drummer Al Williams and singers Barbara Morrison and Julie Kelly.

But chances to see nationally recognized names with big-label recording contracts were extremely limited. The Orange County Performing Arts Center’s jazz series, with its rather predictable billings (young trumpet sensation Roy Hargrove appeared here twice, once in February opposite Charlie Haden’s Quartet West and again in November supporting vocalist Dianne Reeves), helped answer that need, though there was no jazz on its schedule between March and September.

Orange Coast College’s jazz series, presented at the Robert B. Moore Theatre, was a mixed bag, with performances from pianist Gene Harris’ quartet, bassist Art Davis and a rare West Coast appearance from the Toshiko Akiyoshi Jazz Orchestra leading the highlights. Despite the fact that the Performing Arts Center had booked Akiyoshi the previous season, this was probably the year’s most important, concert-scale show.

Mention should also be made of the strong Dixieland, New Orleans and swing-band scene in Orange County. Not only could one find a host of trad-jazz organizations that meet at different times each month, but the Fullerton Hofbrau also offered an impressive lineup. (Word at press time, however, is that the Hofbrau will be changing its bookings, with jazz taking a back seat to rock and pop bands in 1995.)

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Other events also deserve notice:

* Pianist Harold Land’s weekly appearances at DeMario’s in Laguna Niguel.

* The Dewey Erney-Stephanie Haynes tributes to George Gershwin and Cole Porter at the same location.

* Promoter Ken Allen’s infrequent big-band tributes held at the Irvine Marriott hotel.

* The family oriented Orange County Art & Jazz Festival, held on the grounds of the Fullerton Arboretum, with its mix of college, high school and professional bands.

* Drummer Chiz Harris and saxophonist Eric Marienthal’s shows at the Balboa Studio Cafe, as well as such lounge appearances as Les Czimber’s weekly stints at 21 Oceanfront in Newport Beach.

All in all, the year’s menu gave jazz fans enough to keep them happy. But only as long as they weren’t too picky about the style.

Hear the James Newton Ensemble: * To hear a sample of the album “Suite for Frida Kahlo,” call TimesLine at 808-8463 and press *5580.

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