POP MUSIC REVIEW : Music Fills Air for KSBR Celebration

From the first notes of “Bucket Head Shuffle” to the resounding climax of “Mercy, Mercy, Mercy,” the KSBR-FM 12th Anniversary Birthday Bash at the Dana Point Resort on Saturday afternoon was a jammin’, rockin’ affair. A crew of 14 musicians, including some of the best-known names in jazz-fusion, managed to keep the overflow crowd enthused--often wildly--throughout the party’s 2 1/2-hour duration.

What’s surprising is how many members of this musical assemblage, some with national reputations, make their homes in Orange County. Fluegelhornist Tony Guerrero, bassists Max Bennett and Luther Hughes and Shadowfax percussionist Stu Nevitt, as well as guitarist Gannon Arnold and drummer Evan Stone--both members of the O.C.-based band Minimum 3--all live in the county. One of the best-known names in attendance, saxophonist Brandon Fields, now working out of Los Angeles, grew up here.

With many of the KSBR disc jockeys in attendance, the event had all the coziness of a neighborhood block party, one that spared no expense on the entertainment. Better yet, it was free.

The music got under way 30 minutes past its scheduled start-up time, but no one seemed to mind. Guerrero’s “Bucket Head Shuffle” found bassist Bennett, fresh from an appearance at Pasadena’s Raymond Theatre the previous night with Peggy Lee, anchoring the rhythm section with drummer Lee Venters. Guitarists Arnold and Pat Kelley stood behind a formidable front line of saxophonist Jeff Kashiwa (from the Rippingtons), altoist Fields and Guerrero (who also served as m.c. for the event), this time on trumpet.

Though best known for his powerhouse drumming, Alphonse Mouzon took a turn on piano, contributing a straight-ahead sound that leaned towards Red Garland’s no-nonsense style. The tune’s in-the-tradition appeal was duly appropriate for the jam session, and the soloists seemed to up the ante as each took his turn.

The afternoon was marked with a number of fine individual efforts. Bennett’s “Jamaica,” paced by Nevitt’s electronically generated steel-drum percussion, featured a searing improv from Fields that began on an intense, shrieking tone. Stone’s funky “Shpang” spotlighted a rhythmically savvy guitar solo from the 19-year-old Arnold over Hughes’ tight thumps. Despite some problems with her microphone, singer Jude Swift turned “Love For Sale” into an inviting salsa-based romp. And Guerrero’s fluegel brought a touch of intimacy to Mouzon’s “Your Eyes Are Beautiful.”

One of the best groupings of the day came on Mouzon’s “Love Fantasy,” with an ensemble that included Nevitt, Kelley, Hughes and keyboardist Steve Bach. The drummer’s hard-charging attack sparked a fireplug of a solo from Fields, followed by Gannon’s steamy excursion. Both efforts drew extended ovations.

Keyboardist Rob Mullins joined the fray in time for the closer, Joe Zawinul’s familiar number, “Mercy Mercy, Mercy.” The song found all but one of the musicians on stage, and nearly all of them taking a solo. While Venters and Stone each worked a portion of the single drum kit, Mullins, on acoustic piano, and Bach, on synth, brought the house down with a dueling keyboards passage that accelerated in intensity at each exchange. The tune’s long close, with the brass needling away, brought the crowd to its feet.