JAZZ / DIRK SUTRO : Rolls-Royce of Guitarists About to Purr Into Town

If there is such a thing as a Rolls-Royce of guitar players, it has to be Mundell Lowe, whose big, smooth sound purrs flawlessly through the melodic jazz standards he favors.

Lowe, a longtime television and film sound track musician who recently moved to Tierrasanta, has been more active recording and playing live since leaving his 18-year job with “The Merv Griffin Show” in 1983.

Although some writers have heard blues influences in Lowe’s work, he believes his style is firmly rooted in swing, the dominant form of jazz during his early teens in New Orleans.

His controlled improvisations stay close to a tune’s melody, in the tradition of the great mainstream jazz guitarists. To paraphrase Miles Davis, Lowe knows the importance of silences in the right places. On occasion, though, he cuts loose with rapid-fire runs made to seem easy by his well-honed fret work.

Lowe, who is married to big-band singer Betty Bennett, spends much of his time on the road. He just returned from a tour of Europe, including a week in Barcelona during which he recorded a new duo album with Spanish pianist Tete Monteliu, “the same as I used to do with Bill Evans,” Lowe said.

Local musicians are well aware of Lowe’s prowess. Pianist Mike Wofford taped a television program with him a few years back, and bass player Bob Magnusson has played on several of Lowe’s albums.

At 67, Lowe has played with his share of jazz masters, yet says he doesn’t look to other jazz musicians for inspiration.

“I studied 12-tone music, European music, Schoenberg. Most of my development came out of studying theories with various teachers,” he said.

Lowe’s last recording was “Mundell Lowe’s Transit West” for the now-defunct Pausa label. The recent album with Monteliu was made for the Spanish Fresh Sound label and should be available in the United States early next year, along with a 2-year-old session Lowe did with bassist Andy Simpkins, drummer Paul Humphrey and pianist George Gaffney.

For his live dates, Lowe sticks mostly to familiar standards, with a few originals tossed into the mix.

“I always feel, when I play for people, that they deserve to hear tunes that they know,” Lowe said. “I don’t feel you can go in and clobber an audience with a lot of new material.”

Lowe said he looks forward to being a part of the San Diego jazz community and expects to play local venues regularly. He will be backed by pianist Bob Hamilton, Magnusson and drummer Tim McMahon at Diego’s on Friday and Saturday.

Pianist Cedar Walton, who has been touring almost non-stop since hitting the European jazz festival circuit with Dizzy Gillespie and an all-star band last July, opened a two-week stay at Elario’s in La Jolla on Wednesday.

Walton spent August on the road with the Milt Jackson Quartet, September touring Japan with his own trio and October traveling the United States with the Timeless All-Stars, a sextet that includes Harold Land on sax, Bobby Hutcherson on vibes, Curtis Fuller on trombone, Buster Williams on bass and Billy Higgins on drums.

The Euro tour marked the first time Walton has worked with Gillespie.

“It was magnificent,” Walton said. “The stimulation, the chance to be around a person who started the be-bop movement.”

Walton, a tasteful jazz purist with be-bop roots who’s played with Lou Donaldson, Sonny Rollins, Kenny Dorham and Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers, is playing La Jolla with longtime associates Higgins and Tony Dumas on bass.

Walton has made several recordings as a leader since his debut “Cedar!” in 1966. One of the more recent was a collection of tunes by longtime Duke Ellington Orchestra composer Billy Strayhorn. A trio album recorded during Walton’s recent swing through Japan should be out next year.

While in San Diego, the pianist will tape one of KPBS-TV’s (Channel 15) “Club Date” live jazz programs.

KIFM (98.1) held an unveiling party last Sunday afternoon at the Inn at Del Mar for its new GRP Records sampler, which includes cuts by an all-star cast of GRP artists selected by KIFM Vice President of Programming Bob O’Connor. On hand were guitarist Lee Ritenour and pianist David Benoit. Keyboard player Tom Scott had promised to appear but was an unexplained no-show. Ritenour and Benoit autographed posters of the album’s cover. Ronald McDonald Children’s Charities will receive $2 from the sale of each cassette or CD; KIFM expects to raise $30,000 by the end of January. The album is available in local music stores and Price Clubs. It’s the first time GRP has done a sampler to benefit a charity, also possibly the first time music fans have been able to get a Big Mac coupon with their music.

RIFFS: San Diego saxophonist Gary Lefebvre debuts his new big band next Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. in the dance-club space behind Diego’s restaurant in Pacific Beach. . . . KIFM’s Bob O’Connor hopes to broaden the audience for the station’s Sunday night “Mainly Mainstream” program by inviting well-known pop jazz players to serve as guest hosts. Regular host Paul LaVoie was joined recently by saxophonist Kirk Whalum, who explained his mainstream jazz roots. Let’s hope this approach doesn’t preclude an occasional guest appearance by people like pianist Harry Pickens, guitarist Tal Farlow or Humphrey’s promoter Kenny Weissberg, who, as past guests, exposed KIFM’s audience to an eclectic mix of music. . . . World Beat, the band led by San Diego State University Jazz Ensemble guitarist Bill Macpherson and including Steve Feierabend on tenor sax, will appear at 7 p.m. Wednesday at Smith Recital Hall on the university campus. They’ll do two sets, including several of Macpherson’s original compositions.