SPECIAL EVENT : New Jazz Festival Is a Sampler With Something for Every Taste

Call it the “big tent theory” of a jazz booking. The inaugural Newport Beach Jazz Festival, to be held Saturday and Sunday on the grounds of the Hyatt Newporter, will offer something for nearly everyone.

Take Saturday’s schedule. Like cool sax stylings with a contemporary bent? Check out reed man Everette Harp and his group. Big band? The Fullerton College Big Band opens the day at 1:15. Want mainstream jazz played with both smarts and energy? One of the world’s leading trumpeters, Wallace Roney, counts down in the middle of the afternoon. A great electric band? How about the Yellowjackets? Latin jazz your thing? Choose between violinist Susie Hansen’s salsa ensemble or the powerhouse Latin sounds of conguero Poncho Sanchez.

Sunday’s lineup is just as enticing, with Chick Corea (playing solo piano), the Rippingtons, the B Sharp Jazz Quartet, saxophonist Eric Marienthal and the Long Beach State Jazz Ensemble among those scheduled to appear.

“We think it’s a nice mixture,” said festival director and Ritz Entertainment vice president Rich Sherman. “We wanted to get a few big-name acts that everybody knew, and we have that with Chick, the Yellowjackets and the Rippingtons. But you need crossover appeal, and we have that, too.”

Though this is Ritz’s first jazz event under the Newport name, it’s their second try at a jazz gathering.

Last year, their Orange County Jazz Festival, held outdoors in an Irvine business park, ran afoul of the weather. The opening night’s performances were rained out and Saturday’s attendance was held down due to chilly evening temperatures. (Ritz also produces The Orange County Blues Festival, the California Country Festival and Rodeo and the Friday-night Jazz and Pop Series, which begins June 30 and will also be held at the Hyatt).

While last year’s performances weighed in heavily on the contemporary-fusion side of the ledger, Sherman said the idea this year was to provide something for everyone.

“I’m personally thrilled to have a guy like Wallace Roney, who’s won a Grammy, come out here,” he said. “And it goes right on down the line, including Eric Marienthal, who plays all over the world, to appear right here in his own back yard.” Marienthal lives in Costa Mesa.

Roney, the festival’s mainstream highlight, appeared on the 1993 collaboration between Miles Davis and Quincy Jones, “Live at Montreux,” with the late Gil Evans’ orchestra. Roney played second trumpet as they re-created Davis’ work of the late ‘50s and early ‘60s. Roney, who has a half-dozen albums out under his own name (the latest is 1994’s “Misterios” on the Warner Bros. label), emerged from drummer Tony Williams band in the ‘80s to become one of the foremost trumpeter of his generation.

Saturday’s headliners, the Yellowjackets, have been called the “Cadillac of fusion bands,” picking up the mantle from Joe Zawinul’s now-defunct Weather Report, the trend-setting electric band in the ‘70s and early ‘80s.

The Jackets--with saxophonist Bob Mintzer, drummer William Kennedy, keyboardist Russell Ferrante and bassist Jimmy Haslip--are known for strong beats, lush compositions and musicianship that transcends that of the usual fusion band.

* What: The inaugural Newport Beach Jazz Festival.

* When: Saturday from 1:15 p.m.-10:15 p.m. and Sunday from noon-9:30 p.m.

* Where: The Hyatt Newporter, 1107 Jamboree Road, Newport Beach.

* Whereabouts: From the San Diego (405) Freeway, go south on the Corona Del Mar (73) Freeway to the Jamboree Road exit. Head south to Newporter Road and turn right. From the Pacific Coast Highway, turn north on Jamboree to Newporter Road and go left.

* Wherewithal: Single-day tickets are $15 in advance, $20 at the door. A two-day pass is $25 in advance. Children under 12 are $5 at the door.

* Where to call: (714) 650-5483.

MORE JAZZ:

After the Saturday festivities at the Newport Beach Jazz Festival draw to a close, the party continues inside Duke’s nightclub at the Hyatt when saxophonist Mike Gealer and his band Euphoria strike up at 10:30 p.m. No cover. (714) 729-1234.

Violinist Jamii Szmadzinski, a member of the band Shadowfax, performs with his own trio at Renaissance at the Dana Point Cafe, 24701 Del Prado Ave., Dana Point. Saturday, 8:30 p.m. No cover. (714) 661-6003.

Vocalist Jack Wood, a vocalist with a smart sense of phrasing and an endless repertoire of standards, will be the guest of Doug MacDonald’s trio Saturday at Kikuya, 8052 Adams Ave., Huntington Beach. 8 p.m. No cover. (714) 536-6665.

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Schedule of Performances

SATURDAY, MAY 13

* 1:15 p.m.--Fullerton College Jazz Band; Sand Court

* 2:15 p.m.--Alphonse Mouzon with Brandon Fields, Grant Geissman, Dan Siegel; Main Stage

* 3:20 p.m.--Susie Hansen Latin Jazz Band; Sand Court

* 4:15 p.m.--Wallace Roney; Main Stage

* 5:30 p.m.--Everette Harp; Sand Court

* 7:15 p.m.--The Yellowjackets; Main Stage

* 9 p.m.--Poncho Sanchez Latin Jazz Ensemble; Main Stage

SUNDAY, MAY 14

* Noon--Long Beach State Jazz Ensemble; Amphitheater

* 1 p.m.--Rick Braun; Main Stage

* 2:15 p.m.--B Sharp Jazz Quartet; Amphitheater

* 3:30 p.m.--Jeff Lorber Band; Main Stage

* 5:15 p.m.--Eric Marienthal; Amphitheater

* 6:30 p.m.--Chick Corea; Main Stage

* 8 p.m.--The Rippingtons, featuring Russ Freeman; Main Stage