Mall Jazz Series Back After Lapse

When Fashion Square Sherman Oaks promises cool nights in its Hot Jazz, Cool Nights series, it delivers. The mall, which used to be open-air, was enclosed last year.

“Now we’re climate-controlled,” said Marketing Director Sandy Stavig-Turner. “It’s cool no matter what the weather’s like.”

The mall also has done a good job delivering on its musical promise of hot jazz for the series, which runs three more Thursday nights with shows at 6 and 7 p.m. Next week’s program, featuring The Freeway Philharmonic, may prove to be one of the best.

The group has gotten good notices in appearances around town during the past five years, and its second album, “Car Tunes,” was released just this week by Spindletop Records.

One cut, “Frozen Hearts,” has gotten good play on the Wave, KTWV-94.7 FM.

The Hot Jazz, Cool Nights series, which started May 30, is a revival of a music program at Fashion Square that lapsed about six years ago. Stavig-Turner said this summer’s effort is part of a plan to change the image of the mall, which found it had sacrificed some of its bloom to the popular Sherman Oaks Galleria.

“We want to attract more young families,” she said. “This was a place you came with your mom when you wanted to buy nice things, but you never came yourself. Now you do.”

The performances are free and take place in Palm Tree Court, an area at the center of the mall. Folding chairs are set up for those who wish to sit, but many people take in the music while standing on second-level walkways.

Each set lasts about 45 minutes. Coffee, other beverages and food are available, and people come and go as they wish.

“It’s good for kids because they can make noise,” Stavig-Turner said. “They don’t have to be quiet like at a regular concert. When they get antsy, they can move on to the toy store.”

With its strong string influence, The Freeway Philharmonic is a bit softer than some jazz groups, yet its work is lively and vibrant. The four members are Robert Stanton, who plays guitars; Novi Novog, viola and piano; Scott Jackson, percussion, and Larry Tuttle on Chapman stick, an electric instrument that has five guitar and five bass strings.

“We’re played on New Age stations and on jazz stations, so it’s a real fusion,” Stanton said. “You could say we combine classical, New Age and jazz. We’ve done everything from open for the Detroit Symphony to play regular jazz clubs.”

The group also has appeared on TV’s “thirtysomething” and will play July 23 at the Los Angeles Zoo in the zoo’s summer concert series.

Some critics have found a bluegrass flavor in the group’s work. All remark on its intricacy and sophistication.

The music is almost exclusively instrumental, but “Frozen Hearts,” the radio hit, has a vocal by Lauren Wood, who will appear at Fashion Square.

On July 18, the next-to-last show at the mall will feature the Groove Merchants of Venice, who emphasize swing and blues standards. Performers for the final night, July 25, are still being arranged.

“Hot Jazz, Cool Nights” are held Thursday s with shows at 6 and 7 p.m. at the Fashion Square Sherman Oaks, on Riverside Drive between Woodman and Hazeltine avenues. Free. Information: (818) 783-0550.