Newton a Lecturer at UC Irvine

Award-winning flutist James Newton, the San Pedro resident who has achieved international acclaim for his mainstream and avant-garde jazz and classical performances, has been selected as the Chancellor’s Distinguished Lecturer in Fine Arts at UC Irvine. As part of his residency, Newton--who is a professor of composition, jazz and jazz history at CalArts--will rehearse the UC Irvine jazz ensemble and offer flute tutorials. His jazz improvisation master class, held today from 4 to 6 p.m. in the Council Hall, is free. Information: (714) 856-6616, 856-5000.

Club News: Set to reopen in March after a recent remodeling, the Silverscreen Lounge of the Hyatt on Sunset will remain closed until further notice, said Teri Merrill-Aarons, president of the Los Angeles Jazz Society, which provides talent for the room. Merrill-Aarons said the hotel’s management cited decreased room occupancy, due to the recession and Persian Gulf War, as the reason for holding back the return of the room’s music policy.

In the Bins: Say hello to Night Records, a new label devoted strictly to “live” performances, culled for the most part from private sources and all previously unavailable. Making up the initial release are Eddie Harris’ “A Tale of Two Cities,” Les McCann’s “Les Is More,” Cannonball Adderley’s “Radio Nights” and Rahsaan Roland Kirk’s “The Man Who Cried Fire.”

“By private , I mean these sessions were either recorded without the musician’s knowledge or were never expected to be released,” said Joel Dorn, noted producer (Arturo Sandoval, Roberta Flack, Neville Brothers, McCann and Harris, et al), who conceived Night along with his associate, Bernie Drayton. “We began looking for material about four years ago and we now have over 250,000 hours. And believe me, while it may sound like jive, there’s more out there.”

To use the material, Dorn easily obtained clearances and releases from the musicians. “I either had produced them or knew them, so I just called them on the phone.” Standard contracts calling for advances against future royalties were signed.

Dorn said that although the label’s first releases are jazz, the label won’t stop there. “There’ll be a lot of other kinds of music. We started with jazz because that’s what we found first.”