Jazz Pianist Hank Jones Is a Man With a Notable Past

Pianist Hank Jones has a resume that reads like a jazz Hall of Fame. How many musicians can tell first-hand stories about Charlie Parker, Coleman Hawkins and Lester Young?

Jones, the eldest brother from a musical family which also produced drummer Elvin and big band trumpeter Thad, opened two weeks at Elario’s on Wednesday night, backed by San Diegans Bob Magnusson on bass and Jim Plank on drums.

Known as a sensitive accompanist and superb improviser with a controlled, melodic style, Jones remains vital at 71.

He recently recorded an album under the Great Jazz Trio name he founded in the early ‘80s with bassist Ron Carter and drummer Tony Williams. This time around, Jones worked with Danish bassist Mads Winding and drummer Billy Hart. In February, he participated in the tribute to Ella Fitzgerald at Avery Fisher Hall in New York, along with a Who’s Who of jazz. He plays often in such top New York clubs as Fat Tuesday’s, Indigo Blue and the Village Vanguard.

You’d expect to hear tales of bruised egos about growing up in Pontiac, Mich., in a family of such formidable talents, but Jones said there were no conflicts.

“There was no competition. We were all in the same family. I was the only one interested in piano. Thad was always interested in trumpet, and Elvin interested in drums. I had the piano to myself. We didn’t play together a lot growing up. I was ahead of them, and I left home six or seven years before they did.”

Jones said he doesn’t see any contemporary jazz artists equal to the geniuses he worked with during the ‘40s and ‘50s.

“Certainly, it was a once in a lifetime type of thing. Hawkins, Young, Parker--how often do you have this kind of genius in a century? I don’t know anyone today who can compare. They were distinctive because they had a distinctive style.”

Hawkins was “proficient in any key, he had marvelous jazz instincts,” Jones recalled. Young had a distinctive tone and a weird way of holding his horn--horizontally, like a flute.

As for Parker, he more than challenged his fellow players with his lightning be-bop lines.

“Challenge is a mild term,” Jones said. “He had a marvelous ability to play very fast and execute flawlessly. His tone was superb. Most people who play fast suffer in tone. His tone on alto was one of main things you noticed. He had the ability to play both rapid tempos and beautiful ballads.”

Jones was looking forward to his stay in San Diego. He hasn’t been here since the late ‘40s.

San Diego guitarist Hank Easton’s nine-song CD will be in local music stores, including Tower Records, within the next week. Easton hopes the recording will land him a distribution deal. Positive responses are already coming. The Wave, the national Chicago-based radio network, wants to put his song “San Diego Sunset” into rotation, but Easton wants to wait until his album is more widely available.

At 26, he is one of San Diego’s most promising guitarists. Technically, he’s got all the tools. In his work, you can hear snippets of those he considers his mentors: George Benson, Carlos Santana, Jeff Beck, Robben Ford, Larry Carlton, Stanley Jordan, Jim Hendrix.

In “The Kitchen Sink,” the one blues tune on the CD, Easton departs from his penchant for technical fireworks to show that less can be more.

All of the songs were written by Easton and reveal a promising FM radio riffmaster at work. Easton has opened for Michael Brecker, Acoustic Alchemy, Kirk Whalum and Lee Ritenour, and it wouldn’t come as a surprise if he eventually enjoys the same kind of success.

This Sunday, Easton plays the Mission Bay Hilton Hotel’s Sunday brunch from 10:30 to 1. On March 23, 24, 30 and 31, he’ll be at the Del Mar Hilton from 9 p.m. to 1 a.m. On April 7, his Easton West Band will be one of four rising young bands showcased at the Bacchanal.

RIFFS: Baritone sax master Nick Brignola drew a less-than-capacity crowd to last weekend’s concert at the San Diego Convention Center. Roughly half of 400 seats were taken. Some fans who called Ticketmaster were mistakenly told that the concert was sold out. Friday and Sunday nights, Brignola sat in with buddies Dave McKenna and Scott Hamilton at Elario’s. . . .

San Diegans Bob Magnusson (bass) and Randy Porter (piano) joined former San Diegan John Guerin on drums to back up jazz singer Diane Schuur in Los Angeles last weekend. Porter, 27, plans to release a self-produced CD of mostly original music in about a month. Porter, Magnusson and San Diego drummer Jim Plank will back jazz trumpet legend Art Farmer at Elario’s for two weeks beginning March 28. . . .

Some local light jazz stalwarts are also versed in straight-ahead jazz. At the Mission Bay Hilton’s 4-month-old Tuesday night jazz jams, hosted by percussionist and vocalist Mike Kelleher of Reel to Real, top local musicians play a mix of light jazz and straight-ahead standards. Hank Easton, guitarist Kiko Cibrian, bass man Charlie Chadwick and sax man Mark Lessman have been among the more than 100 locals who have jammed so far. Lessman’s band plays the Catamaran’s “Jazz Trax Nite” next Wednesday. The next of the monthly “Lites Out Desert Weekends” at La Casa Del Zorro in Borrego Springs is April 27 to 29. For the price of accommodations, guests will enjoy performances by Hollis Gentry and Most Valuable Players, including a Friday night jam session. Visitors frequently join the musicians for a game of basketball. This Sunday’s special guest on “Jazz Trax” is saxophonist Sam Riney, whose newest album has been running a close second to Kenny G.’s on the national “contemporary jazz” charts. . . .

Cibrian and other member of Gentry’s band Neon have left to form their own group called True Stories.