Valve Trombonist Horns In : Music: Mike Fahn, who fronts a quartet Saturday at the Hyatt Newporter’s weekend jazz festival, is renowned for his mastery of the seldom-seen instrument. Rhythm section, make room.

Think trombone and you’re thinking slide. But the trombonist on stage last week at the Itchey Foot restaurant in downtown Los Angeles wasn’t sliding, wasn’t doing that traditional tailgating thing. In a warm give-and-take trio session with guitar and acoustic bass, this trombonist was working valves like a trumpet player. And he was cooking.

Valve trombonist Mike Fahn, who fronts a quartet Saturday at the Hyatt Newporter’s weekend jazz festival, is aware of the obscurity that veils his instrument of choice. But playing the valve trombone, to hear it from Fahn, has been something like destiny, something almost preordained.

“The fact is that I just came up playing valve,” said Fahn earlier this week from his home in El Toro. “I do think God has blessed me with a particular talent, and I’m fortunate that I’m able to express it on an instrument that’s not all that common.” The 29-year-old musician, who has worked with the big bands of Maynard Ferguson and Don Menza and a host of Los Angeles-based jazz musicians, credits his father with providing early direction.

“My dad was a drummer, and as early as I can remember--at 2, 3 years of age--I was listening to Miles Davis, Horace Silver, Art Blakey and a lot of drummers like Buddy Rich. It was a wonderful way to grow up, listening to all that music, carrying your dad’s drums to the gig. Like any kid, I owe a lot of my background to my dad.”

And, as fate would have it, the senior Fahn was a big fan of Bob Brookmeyer, the West Coast-based valve trombonist who replaced Chet Baker in Gerry Mulligan’s early-’50s quartet. “I started out playing drums, got a trumpet when I was 6 and started the baritone horn in sixth grade because the teacher needed one for the band. My dad heard me improvising on the baritone, and for my 11th birthday, he bought me a valve (trombone). He said, ‘Bob Brookmeyer is one of my favorite players and I’d like you to have this.’ ”

The Long Island native moved with his family to Palos Verdes in 1977, and before long Fahn was sitting in with veteran keyboardist Frank Strazzeri at the Studio Cafe in Balboa. “It was Frank that started introducing me around and telling people about me. Because of him, I got to play with Don Menza’s band when I was only 20.”

Fahn has great respect for the musicians of Strazzeri’s generation with whom he has worked. “I’ve really learned a lot from the older guys: (saxophonists) Bob Cooper, Pete Christlieb, (trumpeter) Conte Candoli, Frank Strazzeri. I really feel in the groove when I’m working for them. They’re all great improvisers.” In turn, Cooper has employed the trombonist on two albums, Strazzeri on one. He’s also recorded with Dick Berk’s Jazz Adoption Agency, saxophonist Matt Catingub’s big band, and adventurous reed man Kim Richmond.

Fahn can best be heard on his own album, “Steppin’ Out,” a collection of John Patitucci originals and standards from Ellington, Monk and Miles Davis, released last year on the Santa Ana-based Cexton label. The recording features Fahn in the company of keyboardist Tad Weed (who’ll be in the trombonist’s quartet this weekend), drummer Peter Donald, known for his work with guitarist John Abercrombie, and Patitucci, Chick Corea’s longtime bassist. Fahn and Patitucci first started playing together in 1980. You might say by now they’re family.

“I really have a rapport with John. He’s very sensitive, a guy with a lot of empathy.” Patitucci also introduced his sister, Renee, to the trombonist in 1982. The two were married in 1987.

In the last year, Fahn has been heard with the Tom Kubis big band (“I love playing his music,” he said, “because there’s a lot of focus on blowing”) and the Terry Gibbs Dream Band as well as touring with Maynard Ferguson’s high-powered ensemble, Big Bop Nouveau.

His big-band experience notwithstanding, Fahn said that the last week’s trio date at the Itchey Foot, without the rhythmic support of a drummer, is the kind of challenge he likes to face.

“So many times you see the soloist out front and there’s no communication with the rhythm section,” he explained. “I try to be creative, but I’m not the only one out there. My whole approach in a small jazz group is to envision myself as part of the rhythm section. Sure, I’m the horn player, but they’re also all horn players, too. And I’m part of the rhythm section as well.”

This weekend’s quartet appearance give Fahn the chance to gain some exposure for his seldom-seen instrument. “My being the only horn means there’s so much I can do. You have to compromise a little bit if there’s another horn player. When you’re the only one, you can afford to be a little selfish, take the chance to become part of the rhythm section.”

As on the album, Fahn promises to play a mix of standards and originals. “Playing standards is very important to the audience. It gives them something to grab onto, something they can recognize,” something he says is particularly important, given his instrument. “I mean, how many valve trombonists have they seen out there playing?”

The Mike Fahn Quartet plays Saturday as part of the Hyatt Newporter Jazz Festival, which opens tonight at 7:30 with Bob Florence’s Limited Edition Big Band. The Hyatt Newporter is at 1107 Jamboree Road, Newport Beach. Tickets: $10 per program. Through Sunday. Information: (714) 729-1234.