Drummerless Jazz Doesn’t Lose Beat : Music: Trio of sax, piano and bass fit right in to a laid-back groove every Friday evening at Zeppa restaurant in Newport Beach.

A man hoists a tall, long-necked bag through the front doors at Zeppa, a sleek, California-Italian restaurant with a small but crowded bar scene in Newport’s Fashion Island.

Clutching the case by its throat, he speaks to a man with a sax who’s leaning against the wall, then to the trim, bearded pianist directly in front. On a nearby television, the Lakers increase their lead over Golden State, and applause breaks out in the packed room, spiked with scattered shouts of encouragement. The musicians hardly notice.

The man unzips the case to reveal a plump, upright bass. In moments, the trio is stirring things up with Bobby Timmons’ “Moanin’,” a tune Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers recorded some 30 years ago. The background noise in the room increases. But the band doesn’t try to compete with it. Instead they step back, then fit in. They find a groove.

The bassist, Bob Harrison, is a substitute for Isla Eckinger, who’ll return in June after touring Europe with Clark Terry. The leader on this date, keyboardist Joe Lettieri, once worked next to saxophonists Joe Farrell and Ornette Coleman. The saxophonist, Jay Migliori, toured Europe and South America with Stan Kenton and is probably best known for his long association with the be-bop brass section Supersax. Neither is a stranger to the Orange County music scene. Along with bassist Eckinger, they’re all veterans of drummer Chiz Harris’ 13-year-long engagement at the Studio Cafe in Balboa. Now, in addition to that ongoing ensemble, the three work together every Friday night, without a drummer, at Zeppa.

“They didn’t want a drummer,” Lettieri said earlier this week from his home in Newport Beach, “because they can be too loud. So this is a new thing for me. I didn’t think you could play jazz without a drummer, but I was really surprised. You tend to emphasize a different side. It’s opened our ears up, and we’ve gotten closer together.”

Lettieri studied classical piano for eight years. His opportunity to learn jazz presented itself one day at a Fontana swimming pool.

“The kookiest-looking guy, just this crazy no-name trumpet player, came up to me and asked if I played piano, then if I’d play with him. I had no idea what I was getting into,” Lettieri said. “We played from stock charts and I tried to play all the different parts. He pointed me toward George Shearing and Bud Powell. I’ve been playing ever since.”

Bassist Ben Tucker, who was serving in the Air Force at the time, befriended Lettieri and introduced him to the mid-’50s Los Angeles club scene. One session they did boasted Billy Higgins and Ornette Coleman.

“I don’t know why they wanted me,” Lettieri marveled, then joked: “I lost more gigs because of playing with (Coleman). Nobody understood him. But he was a great player.”

“That’s what I liked about L.A. back then,” he added. “There was the Big Top Club, the Hillhurst, the coffeehouses. I got a chance to play with the biggest names in jazz, like bassists Scott LaFaro and Charlie Haden.”

In contrast, saxophonist Migliori got his big-name experience back East in the early ‘50s while he attended Boston’s Berklee College of Music. At night, he played in the house band at the city’s Hi-Hat club, where his band alternated sets with such greats as Oscar Peterson and Erroll Garner. He sat in behind Billie Holiday once, and Miles Davis worked with the band a number of nights.

“That was a great job for me,” Migliori said. “I played jazz seven nights a week and one afternoon opposite the big acts that came up from New York. It was a great time in my life.”

His years with Kenton resulted in a number of recordings with the famous bandleader. Since then, he assembled a list of credits that includes stints with Terry Gibbs, Gerald Wilson, Gil Evans and Lou Rawls as well as session work for Sinatra.

Migliori is bullish on today’s scene. “I think it’s a lot better than it used to be. You can look in the paper and see so many clubs listed. When I got here in ‘59, there were two or three clubs that booked out-of-town acts, but there weren’t many clubs for locals to play in. None of them would take a chance. Now most of the clubs thrive on local acts.”

Back at Zeppa, Migliori, still leaning against the wall, closes his eyes and seems to drift into another world as he solos on Timmons’ funky tune. He pushes the line with a persistent, yet understated, attack. Lettieri surveys the scene from behind the grand while tracing chords across Migliori’s come-on. The bass line climbs into audible range before sliding back beneath the surface of the hubbub. As the night progresses, and the crowd thins, the band steps more to the forefront. Later between sets, they sit outside at a table and agree how good it is to be playing.

“Good music is timeless,” Lettieri said. “People keep trying to be trendy, but jazz just keeps creeping in more and more.”

The Joe Lettieri Trio plays every Friday, 9:30 p.m. to 12:30 a.m., at Zeppa, 327 Newport Center Drive in Fashion Island, Newport Beach. Information: (714) 640-0600. The Chiz Harris Quartet plays every Saturday, 9 p.m. to 1 a.m., at the Studio Cafe, 100 S. Main St., Newport Beach. Information: (714) 675-7760.