Acclaimed Father, Daughter Team Up for Performances

Growing up, trumpet and fluegelhorn player Stacy Rowles was jazzed early on. Her father, pianist Jimmy Rowles, played host to a steady stream of famous visitors at their home in Culver City.

“Ben Webster used to sit me on his knee when I was 4. Billie Holiday held me when I was 6 months old,” said Rowles, who takes the stage with her father at 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday at All That Jazz, the new club adjoining the Wall St. Cafe in Rancho Bernardo.

Jimmy Rowles is 72 and in precarious health. He seldom plays clubs, so this is a rare opportunity to hear an authentic original who came up in the big bands of Benny Goodman, Woody Herman, Tommy Dorsey and Bob Crosby. He went on to accompany such great singers as Holiday, Sarah Vaughan and Ella Fitzgerald.

During the 1960s, Rowles spent a good portion of his time working on movie soundtracks before going back to jazz full-time in the mid-’70s and building on his reputation for Ellington-inspired piano work on a variety of compositions by the Duke and his associate, Billy Strayhorn.

Rowles has recorded as a leader and with Stan Getz, Zoot Sims, Ray Brown, George Mraz and others. He’s been up for a Grammy five times, including a nomination for his 1982 solo piano album of music by Ellington and Strayhorn.

Meanwhile, his daughter’s career is picking up steam. Stacy Rowles’ resume is almost as extensive as her father’s, including work with bandleader Herman, Joe Pass, Marian McPartland, Red Callender and Tommy Flanagan. In September, she toured Europe with the Jazz Tap Ensemble and during October, played several dates in France.

She alternates between fluegelhorn and trumpet. She likes the rich, velvety sound of the fluegelhorn, and when she plays trumpet, she usually tempers its bite with a mute. She names Freddie Hubbard, Clark Terry, Art Farmer and Chuck Mangione as influences.

Her last album “Looking Back,” released a year ago, includes her father plus Donald Bailey on drums and Eric Von Essen on bass.

Rowles said she expects this weekend’s fare to consist primarily of standard--”jazz standards, not pop, rooted in be-bop. Dad has such a great knowledge of tunes that he has written me a beautiful library of tunes you just don’t hear anymore, standards most people don’t remember.”

Elario’s makes a significant break with tradition this week by featuring fusion keyboardist Rob Mullins for five nights, beginning tomorrow. Actually, Mullins doesn’t like to label his music, and considers himself a jazz player first and foremost, but this is the first time Elario’s has headlined an electric jazz band with a commercial radio following in one of its prime five-night slots.

“I enjoy playing a lot of different styles of music,” Mullins said. “I’m sure a lot of people are going to come in and wonder, ‘Can these guys play?’ and ‘Is this jazz?’ We would say ‘Yes’ to both. The way that I look at jazz, I think it’s still growing and didn’t stop developing in the ‘50s.

“There’s a great amount of cultural diversity in America, and I try and draw on everything I’ve been exposed to. The first two albums I bought when I was 13 or 14 were ‘Big Swing Face’ by Buddy Rich and the debut album by the Doors.”

Mullins said he has been most influenced by artists who are “great technicians but play with a lot of heart,” naming Keith Jarrett, Chick Corea, McCoy Tyner and Bruce Hornsby.

His newest album “Tokyo Nights” marks a return to electric jazz following last year’s “Jazz Jazz,” an all-acoustic album. At Elario’s, his band will include former Crusaders saxman Wilton Felder plus bassist Dave Carpenter and drummer Joel Taylor. Mullins will play both acoustic piano and electric keyboards.

Shows begin at 8:30 and 10 Wednesday, Thursday and Sunday nights and at 9, 10:30 and midnight Friday and Saturday nights.

Now settled in Portland, Ore., after a September move from San Diego, pianist Randy Porter teams up with fellow Portlander bassist Leroy Vinnegar and San Diego flutist Holly Hofmann this Friday and Saturday night at 8:30 at the Horton Grand Hotel downtown.

Porter reports a lively jazz scene in Portland. He has already picked up regular work including Tuesday night date at a club called The Hobbit.

Vinnegar, 62, is a polished player and composer. He has recorded several albums of his own and played on many others, including the incredibly popular late 1960s album “Swiss Movement” with Les McCann and Eddie Harris. Vinnegar has never worked with Porter and Hofmann, so the music will consist primarily of standards.

RIFFS: A recent article by this writer reported that Steve Allen wrote the song “South Rampart Street Parade.” While Allen is multitalented, his publicity material exaggerated his credits a bit, as was pointed out by local musician and jazz critic Murray Davison. The traditional jazz number credited to Allen was actually penned by bassist Bob Haggart, a former La Costan. . . .

Fluegelhorn player Burnett Anderson, the ex-Texan now in Daniel Jackson’s Real Jazz Band at Croce’s, which is featured at Croce’s Monday nights, also plays with a trio on Friday and Saturday nights at La Maze in National City (1441 Highland Ave.). . . .

This Friday and next at 8 p.m., guitarist Peter Sprague and a few friends play jazz at The Roxy restaurant in Encinitas. . . .

Hollis Gentry takes a break from touring with guitarist Larry Carlton to appear Saturday nights at 8 during November in the Grant Lounge at the U.S. Grant Hotel downtown. . . .

Tobacco Road plays traditional jazz during its Thursday night “Let The Good Times Roll” shows this month beginning at 8 at Top of the Kingston, 1055 1st Ave. downtown.