Shaffer Takes His Party Music ‘Coast to Coast’

“What is hip?” asked Paul Shaffer, the keyboardist who is musical director of TV’s “Late Night With David Letterman.” “It’s hard to say. Why ask me? I’m not really hip.”

Ah, such modesty.

One reason Letterman’s show is a favorite among the young, hip crowd is because of Shaffer, who was in town recently from New York City to spread the word about his new Capitol album, “Coast to Coast.”

Shaffer may be an unlikely-looking hipster--short, balding, 39 and, by his own admission, no glamour boy.

But when you talk to Shaffer--who wears tinted shades and has a distinctive voice--you quickly get the sense of a confident, glib, witty, in-crowd sort of guy.

Part of the Letterman show’s hang-loose atmosphere--a sort of cozy nightclub feel--is due to Shaffer. Besides leading the band through some punchy rock and R&B;, Shaffer contributes to the offbeat flair of the program by serving as a sweet-natured foil for Letterman’s unremitting sarcasm.

Savoring an afternoon aperitif in a quiet lounge of his Beverly Hills hotel, Shaffer did finally concede, “Well, the show is hip, but I’m just a cog in it.”

Despite his playful, nonchalant manner on the Letterman show, Shaffer has established a reputation in the pop world as a quality musician, both through his playing on the air and touring with his group, the World’s Most Dangerous Band.

The new Capitol album, however, is his most ambitious outside venture. Each cut was recorded in a different city and features a noted performer--such as Valerie Simpson, Brian Wilson, KC (of KC and the Sunshine Band) and Eric Burdon.

Additional stars turn up in minor roles. On the doo-wop style “When the Radio Is On” (which has been released as a single), the background vocalists include Dion DiMucci, Carole King and the Fresh Prince. The vocal lineup on “What Is Soul” is longer and even more impressive, from Ben E. King and Bobby Womack to Darlene Love avis Staples. “Wang Dang Doodle” offers the stirring lead-guitar licks of Buddy Guy.

Shaffer, who has been playing the piano since age 6, said he wanted the album to have the feel of a coast-to-coast party, something with the musical flavor of a lot of different cities.

“It was an opportunity for me to work with a lot of people I’ve wanted to record with and do the kind of music I love . . . rock ‘n’ roll and R&B.; Ballads didn’t fit into this party atmosphere I wanted to create.”

In addition to co-writing and producing, Shaffer also does some singing. One of his brightest vocal moments is a duet with KC, the former disco king never known as a high-quality singer. Shaffer, who holds his own with KC, quipped: “If he makes good records with his voice, I knew there was hope for me.”

Shaffer grew up in a small Canadian town called Thunder Bay and became hooked at an early age on soul and rock by listening to the radio, especially U.S. stations that he could pick up in his area. It wasn’t until he was in college in Toronto, however, that he began thinking about becoming a professional musician. His first big break was landing a position as musical director of the Toronto company of the musical “Godspell.”

He later moved to New York, playing piano in the band backing the Broadway musical “The Magic Show.” Then, in 1975, Howard Shore, an old pal from Canada, got a job as musical director of a new television show called “Saturday Night Live” and invited Shaffer to join the band.

After five years of the weekly grind (which included being Bill Murray’s lounge-act sidekick and a hilarious impersonation of rock impresario Don Kirshner), Shaffer left the highly successful show to work as a studio musician. But the break from television didn’t last long. Letterman, who was starting his late-night show, needed a musical director and he remembered Shaffer from “Saturday Night Live.”

“When they (asked) what kind of band I wanted to put together, I said a group like you’d see in a smoky, late-night lounge that is a local hot spot,” Shaffer recalled of his meeting with Letterman. “I love to play organ, so I wanted a band that would be based around the organ . . . a lot of soul music.”

To drive home his point, Shaffer told Letterman, “I want the band patterned after a group in this topless bar I knew in Toronto.”

For Letterman--the man who’d eventually keep millions up to watch Stupid Pet Tricks--it was an offer he couldn’t refuse.