JAZZ / DIRK SUTRO : Fans May Get an Intimate Look at the Old Benson

Mainstream jazz fans fondly remember the George Benson of the early 1970s, the sizzling guitarist who brought them albums such as “Body Talk” and “White Rabbit.” To the masses, though, Benson, who plays four Humphrey’s Concerts by the Bay on Sept. 19-20, is known for his warm vocals and scat singing, talents that launched his career into the big time with the 1976 album “Breezin,’ ” which included the hit “This Masquerade.”

Fans of Benson’s early work couldn’t have asked for a sweeter surprise than the guitarist’s new album, “Tenderly,” a collaboration with jazz pianist McCoy Tyner, whose roots go back to the years he spent playing and recording with saxophonist John Coltrane.

Not that Benson has given up singing. His version of the Beatles’ “Here, There and Everywhere” is being released as the first single from the new album this month. But Benson began his career trying to re-create Charlie Parker’s sax lines on the guitar, and the material on “Tenderly” recalls his reverence for the history of jazz--”Stella by Starlight,” “Stardust” and other standards.

Benson’s career as a jazz player has enjoyed new life, with a recent tour of Europe with Tyner and live dates in the company of Dizzy Gillespie, Freddie Hubbard and Joe Henderson.

Due to the star status accorded Benson since “Breezin’ ” and its follow-ups, he frequently plays venues much larger than the 1,000-seat outdoor theater at Humphrey’s. Since Benson stretches out more on guitar in his live dates than he does on recordings, these shows should provide a rare, more intimate taste of his jazzier side.

Pianist Frank Strazzeri, who plays Diego’s Loft in Pacific Beach this Friday and Saturday night, is one of the unsung heroes of the movie “Let’s Get Lost,” this year’s bleary look at the waning months of jazz trumpeter and singer Chet Baker.

While Baker slouches, chain-smokes, nods and occasionally lets loose in the film with bursts of the raw musical emotion that made him a legend, Strazzeri holds down a solid rhythm section that tethers the floating star to earth.

Not only was Strazzeri a key ingredient in the movie’s--and subsequent album’s--musical glue, he also played a significant behind-the-scenes role.

According to Strazzeri, he picked “99%” of the songs, an emotional rainbow that ranged from Antonio Carlos Jobim to Cole Porter, from Elvis Costello to Duke Ellington. He also helped put together the band for the movie and reviewed the material with the film’s director, Bruce Weber, so he could decide how to shoot the recording studio scenes.

Having never attained Baker’s star status, Strazzeri received a sizable career boost from his association with the movie.

“Did it help me get dates? Oh yeah, all over the world,” said Strazzeri, who departs for a tour of England and Spain in early October.

The pianist, known to his buddies as “Strazz,” met Baker in the 1950s and played with him in the ‘60s. He spent the late ‘50s playing in saxophonist Charlie Ventura’s groups in Las Vegas, then joined a big band led by Woody Herman. Strazzeri said he is especially fond of the album “Hear Ye, Hear Ye,” which he recorded with the Red Mitchell/Harold Land Quintet, recently rereleased on CD.

These days, Strazzeri plays Disneyland in a band fronted by legendary jazz drummer Louis Bellson, but remains dedicated to his own swinging solo career, producing a steady stream of albums for the Discovery label, based in Los Angeles, and for Fresh Sounds, headquartered in Spain.

Strazzeri describes himself as “middle-of-the-road swing and be-bop--Kenny Barron, Cedar Walton, I think I’m coming out of that bag. Hank Jones and Tommy Flanagan are my all-time favorite pianists.”

The crashing of “The Wave,” KSWV-FM (102.9), has left a wake of confused white water. Art Good, the light-jazz guru and former Wave personality, continues to host the regular “Jazz Trax” shows at the Catamaran in Mission Beach, formerly broadcast live on KSWV and featuring national name acts. Once promoted on The Wave, the events are now promoted on “Classic 103,” The Wave’s rock ‘n’ roll replacement, and its sister station, KSDO-AM (1130). But KIFM (98.1) could become the new radio sponsor if Good lands a job at KIFM, as is expected.

Over at KIFM, new Program Director Bob O’Connor, who officially starts Oct. 2, at first seemed noncommittal when asked about the fate of the Sunday night “Mainly Mainstream” and “San Diego Spotlight” jazz programs formerly hosted by O’Connor’s predecessor, Steve Huntington.

Initially, he told a reporter the decision rested with station General Manager Bruce Walton, but a few seconds later said he is committed to keeping both shows. For the moment, KIFM personality Paul La Voie has assumed Huntington’s duties as host of both shows. O’Connor said he doesn’t know who the shows’ long-term host will be, or whether the station will continue to bring in guest co-hosts for “Mainly Mainstream” each week from the local jazz community, as Huntington had done.

O’Connor may be committed to the show, but that doesn’t mean he thinks KIFM has any obligation to expose listeners to the basics of mainstream jazz, the genre to which many of KIFM’s light-jazz artists owe at least some of their inspiration.

“Our primary job is not to educate our audience, but to get ratings as high as we can to sell ad time to make money for the owners. That’s the bottom line in corporate America,” he said.

Meanwhile, Huntington has landed on his feet as program director and on-air personality for The Wave’s national satellite network, which feeds the light-jazz and pop format to stations across the country from headquarters in Chicago.