JAZZ : Teddy: Still Ready

Teddy Edwards and his saxophone arrived in Los Angeles at just the right time, 1944: The city was flush with activity, and there was an almost never-ending club scene along Central Avenue south of downtown. Before long, the 20-year-old kid who had worked his way here from Jackson, Miss., via Detroit and Tampa had joined the band of trumpeter Howard McGhee, who persuaded him to trade his alto for the tenor.

Before much longer, Edwards--who plays Friday, July 20at the Hyatt Newporter in Newport Beach--was working with such bop-minded musicians as Charlie Parker, Hampton Hawes and Wardell Gray. In 1947, he matched chops with Dexter Gordon on a Dial recording-sax battle called “The Duel.” By 1954, he had replaced Sonny Stitt in the groundbreaking quintet of drummer Max Roach and trumpeter Clifford Brown.

Edwards still lives in Los Angeles but says the scene today lacks a focal point like the one it had in the late ‘40s and early ‘50s. “Los Angeles is so spread out now,” he said recently from Portland, where he was appearing at the Hobbitt Club with his longtime associate, bassist Leroy Vinnegar. “You don’t really have one location any more like in the Central Avenue days with clubs all up and down the street. That’s one thing that’s missing. I had a feeling that Melrose Avenue might turn into that, but it only developed so far.”

Nowadays, Edwards appears around the area with his Brass/String Ensemble, an ambitious mix of rhythm section and five each brass and string players (including a harpist), as well as in smaller combo settings. A frequent visitor to Europe, he’s just back from the International Jazz Festival in Amsterdam where, in a tribute to the late Sarah Vaughan, he played with the likes of Clark Terry, Kenny Drew, Harry (Sweets) Edison and Ed Thigpen. He records infrequently, but his “Teddy’s Ready,” an up-tempo 1960 date that includes bassist Vinnegar, has been reissued by the Original Jazz Classics label.

He promises that he’ll perform such signature originals as “Good Gravy” and “No Name No. 1” in Newport where he’ll be backed by keyboardist Ron Kalina, bassist Henry Franklin and drummer Roy McCurdy. He’ll also feature singer Lisa Nobumoto, who’s been studying voice with him for the last couple of years. “She’s really grown and has a great, great future ahead of her,” the instructor said of his student. “People are amazed at the progress she’s made.”

Who: Teddy Edwards.

When: Friday, July 20, 7:30 p.m.

Where: Hyatt Newporter, 1107 Jamboree Road, Newport Beach.

Whereabouts: The Hyatt is two blocks east of Coast Highway.

Wherewithal: $5.

Where to Call: (714) 729-1234.