MUSEUM’S JAZZ SERIES TO HAVE A VISUAL SIDE

Jazz is widely regarded as America’s one indigenous art form, so what better place to examine the music from a cultural and educational perspective than an art museum?

That’s the idea behind a four-week series of jazz workshops and concerts that begins Saturday at the Laguna Art Museum in Laguna Beach.

More than just a scholarly exploration of traditional and contemporary jazz, the series is designed to draw parallels between visual and aural art as well as spotlight the music of several Orange County jazz musicians.

The programs are organized by vibraphonist Al Maitland to run in conjunction with the museum’s current exhibit “Insights,” part of its continuing Contemporary California Artists series.

“I want to get listeners to give up their judgmental state for a while and approach new ideas with an open mind,” Maitland said during a recent interview at the museum.

One of the most fascinating aspects of the series is that Maitland and other musicians will attempt to musically interpret some of the artwork in the exhibit.

“Which painting do you want?” Maitland said with a laugh to saxophonist Don Hawkins as they wandered through the museum accompanied by percussionist Kurt Rasmussen, guitarist Ed Kusby and cellist Melissa Hasin, each of whom will conduct workshops and be featured in concert.

All perform periodically with Maitland in his group Questet as well as work with their own groups, hence Maitland’s description of Questet as “a band of bandleaders.” (“I only hire bandleaders because I know what a pain sidemen can be,” Maitland joked.)

The idea of jazz inspired by visual artwork may not be as odd as it might sound, Maitland said. “A lot of artists tend to use symphonic ideas to explain their art, and musicians often use words like ‘color’ and ‘texture’ when they talk about their music. There’s a common vocabulary.”

Added Hawkins: “It’s just music that is stimulated by sight rather than sound.”

Through such cross-disciplinary exchanges, Maitland hopes to provide listeners with insights on both art forms.

“In jazz we have the concept of fours, which is four-measure musical phrases,” Maitland said. “I’ll ask the audience to look at a piece of art for four measures, then close their eyes for four measures, and open again. You see things differently looking at art that way.”

When it comes to a musical analogy to the modern art that many viewers find difficult to understand, Maitland said: “In that situation I would rely on humor. I think there’s a lot of humor in modern art.

“Jazz is to contemporary music what surrealism is to modern art,” Maitland said. “All the modern masters listen to jazz, and I’d say every composer today is probably a big band fan. The surrealists looked to intuition, dreams and non-rational connections, and I think that has influenced everything that has happened in art since.”

Museum officials are hoping that the concert series--the first jazz offerings there--will both complement the exhibit and attract a new audience.

“The ‘Insights’ exhibit includes recent acquisitions and highlights from our permanent collection,” said Mike McGee, museum programs coordinator. “The focus and intent is to support artists in the region, and we see jazz music as complying with that intent. And we believe it will bring in a fringe audience that is oriented more toward music than the visual arts.”

The one-hour workshops will begin at 4 p.m. each Saturday and will require no fee other than regular museum admission. Some will be straight demonstrations while others, such as Rasmussen’s percussion workshop, will give members of the audience an opportunity for hands-on experience.

Concerts will follow from 7:30 to 9:30 p.m. Admission will be $4 for museum members, $5 for members and free for children under 12. Workshops will be filled on a first-come, first-served basis. McGee said reservations are recommended for the concerts because seating is limited.

The first workshop, on Saturday, will be led by Rasmussen and will focus on Latin rhythms in jazz. He and his trio Europa will perform Saturday night. On April 25, Hawkins, a longtime Laguna Beach resident, will demonstrate the numerous reed instruments he plays and will be featured with Questet that evening.

Hasin’s program on May 2, entitled “The Cello in Jazz,” will precede a performance by the Classical Action Trio. Maitland will conclude the series May 9 with a workshop on “The Vibraharp Improv and Fours,” followed by a concert by the Peggy Duquesnel Quartet. Six of the musicians will also join forces for a Questet concert at UC Irvine May 16, Maitland said.

Maitland has periodically put together jazz workshops and performances at a variety of places throughout Orange County, from colleges and shopping malls to a counseling center in Laguna to the various sites in the Imagination Celebration last year.

“Usually they’ve been held in one day or at most a weekend,” Maitland said. “This is the first time I’ve stretched it out over several weeks. What I’m trying to do with the audience is get them into a happily relaxed state so they can examine new ideas--without drugs.”

PRETTY VACANT: Wednesday’s debut of Pretty Vacant in Orange--the new alter ego for Confetti nightclub when concerts are staged--drew about 200 people to see Los Angeles-based Concrete Blonde and Orange County’s El Grupo Sexo.

Attempting to create an Orange County equivalent to the Palace in Los Angeles, club operators redecorated the interior in what might be described as “Nouveau Hefty Bag”--military camouflage netting on the walls and black plastic garbage bags covering many of the dozen ceiling-support beams. The result is a dark, underground aura that complements the idea of bringing rising new bands into the county.

From a physical standpoint, the ceiling beams are the club’s biggest drawback, reducing visibility from many locations in the lower tier. The upstairs view to the stage is hampered to a lesser degree by those beams as well as lighting and other equipment suspended from the ceiling.

Sound quality and level also varied significantly from upstairs to down and from side to side and vocals were often muddy, moreso in Concrete Blonde’s set than for El Grupo Sexo. But that seems to have been due to technicians’ unfamiliarity with the room and equipment more than the club’s acoustics, since the sound mix improved as the show went on.

Avalon booking agent Jim Guerinot said he expects a full house in the 560-capacity club for X’s show on April 30. Also added to Pretty Vacant’s schedule is Erasure on May 24.

GARY MORRIS SPECIAL: Country singer Gary Morris, best known for his country hit “The Wind Beneath My Wings” and for his role on the ABC-TV soap opera “The Colbys,” titled his first television special simply “Gary Morris: A Portrait.”

But “Gary Morris: A Very Selective Self-Portrait” would be a more accurate title for the show, which was taped for the most part at the Crazy Horse Steak House in Santa Ana in December. The program begins airing Saturday on the Nashville Network cable channel.

The shaggy-haired, ruggedly handsome singer, whose pure, ringing tenor landed him the lead opposite Linda Ronstadt in Joseph Papp’s 1985 production of Puccini’s opera “La Boheme” in New York, muses philosophically between songs about his transformation from country-pop singer to opera performer to TV star.

It’s a rather somber 60 minutes, brightened only occasionally by something resembling an unrehearsed moment. (When he tells the audience about co-starring with Linda Ronstadt, one enthusiastic man yells, “Yeah!” breaking Morris’ concentration and eliciting a genuine smile from him.)

Although the approach is a welcome contrast to the old variety-show format, in the end the viewer doesn’t learn much about Morris that wouldn’t be found in one of his fan club newsletters.

SUMMER AT THE PACIFIC: An initial announcement of about two dozen Pacific Amphitheatre shows finds Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers, Frank Sinatra and Sammy Davis Jr. and ballet star Rudolph Nureyev among the performers coming to the Costa Mesa facility in 1987.

In addition to last Monday’s season opener with Eric Clapton and the Robert Cray Band, the Pacific will have the Kinks (May 15), Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers, the Georgia Satellites and the Del Fuegos (June 6) and Huey Lewis & the News (June 12-13). Tickets for the Kinks and Huey Lewis concerts are currently on sale, while tickets for the Petty show will go on sale April 26.

Other shows include Emmylou Harris (July 24), Hiroshima (July 25), a “5 O’Clock Legends of Bluegrass” show with Jim and Jesse and Bill Monroe, Ralph Stanley and Mac Weisman (Aug. 2), Spyro Gyra (Aug. 13), the Beach Boys (Aug. 14), Rudolph Nureyev (Aug. 16), Pat Metheny (Aug. 27) and the Moody Blues (Aug. 28).

The Pacific’s schedule continues with the Turtles, the Byrds, Herman’s Hermits, Mark Lindsay, the Grassroots (Sept. 6); Supertramp (Sept. 19); the Monkees (Sept. 20), and the Judds and Randy Travis (Oct. 14).

Tickets for these 12 shows will not go on sale Monday, as reported elsewhere this week, but will be available on April 26, an amphitheater spokeswoman said.

General manager Steve Redfearn said mail and phone orders are now being accepted for a five-concert pop series with Al Jarreau and Chaka Khan (July 11), Frank Sinatra and Sammy Davis Jr. (Aug. 19), Liza Minelli (Aug. 22), Barbara Mandrell (Aug. 30) and Dionne Warwick and Burt Bacharach (Sept. 13). Remaining individual show tickets will be put on sale later.

Additional shows will be added as the season unfolds, amphitheater officials said. The 1987 concert season at Irvine Meadows Amphitheatre is expected to be announced next week.

LIVE ACTION: Billy Idol and the Cult will be at Irvine Meadows Amphitheatre on May 9. Tickets go on sale Sunday. . . . The Coach House in San Juan Capistrano will hold a reggae night on April 30 with Pato Banton and Tippa Irie. . . . Comedian Emo Phillips will be at the Coach House May 9.