Lynch Preserves Blakey’s Memory With Brassy Style

When jazz drummer Art Blakey died in October, the jazz world lost one of its legends, but Blakey’s spirit lives on through the many famous alumni of his bands: Wynton and Branford Marsalis, Freddie Hubbard, Kenny Dorham, Lee Morgan and others.

One of the last to benefit from Blakey’s tutelage was former San Diegan Brian Lynch, a member of Blakey’s group until it disbanded after his death. Lynch, a trumpet player whose solo career is picking up steam, will play the Horton Grand Hotel in downtown San Diego Friday and Saturday.

Though some San Diego jazz buffs like to claim Lynch, 34, as a native son, he only lived in San Diego for about a year in 1980 and 1981 before making New York his home. Lynch grew up in Milwaukee, attending the Milwaukee Conservatory of Music. He was with pianist Horace Silver’s group from 1983 to 1985, and with Blakey’s band for three years after that.

“Most of the music I’ve done on my own has been an extension of the music I played with Horace and Art,” Lynch said. “From Horace, I picked up the value of consistency in playing. He’s one of the most consistent players and writers. Art’s just the epitome of the jazz tradition. I got confidence from working with him, and a strong sense of having a mission, of keeping my musical contribution to a high level, and of having it heard in the world.”

Lynch’s third recording as a leader, “In Process,” came out two months ago. It presents his trumpet in a hard-driving, brassy setting not unlike Blakey’s bands, with Lynch as part of a horn front line including Jim Snidero on alto sax and Javon Jackson on tenor.

“I consider myself a disciple of the great tradition of trumpet players,” Lynch said. “You have to talk about Louis Armstrong and Roy Eldridge, the forebears. Then Dizzy and Fats Navarro, Clifford Brown, Lee Morgan, Freddie Hubbard, Woody Shaw. I like to play with a lot of fire and imagination, with a big sound, but with warmth. I am also influenced by a lot of the great Latin trumpeters, such as Felix Chappotin.”

In San Diego, Lynch will be joined by bassist Bob Magnusson, pianist Mike Wofford, drummer Jim Plank and flutist Holly Hofmann. Music Friday and Saturday at the Horton Grand starts at 8:30 p.m. Peggy Claire of KSDS radio will interview Lynch on her 6-to-9 p.m. show Thursday.

Latin jazz has yet to make significant inroads in San Diego clubs, but there’s no questioning the demand for the music. Steve Spencer drew a throng of 670 to his debut Brazilian music and dance festival last Labor Day at the Princess Resort Hotel at Mission Bay, and 550 turned out for a New Year’s Eve fest in December. Spencer is once again expecting a crowd in the hundreds for “Brazil on the Bay,” his second annual Labor Day fete this Sunday from 8:30 p.m. to 2 a.m., again at the Princess Hotel.

The Rio Thing, a Los Angeles Brazilian jazz/dance troupe, and San Diego’s own Sol e mar, will headline. Spencer, who plays percussion in Sol e mar, had been casually interested in Brazilian music before he got hooked for good in 1978. That’s when he saw the movie “Black Orpheus,” a story that takes place in Rio de Janeiro during the late 1950s at the Carnevale. He began playing with the musicians who became Sol e mar, and the group was the longstanding house band at the Copacabana in San Diego until it closed last year--prompting Spencer to offer his Brazilian shows as an alternative.

The two headlining bands this weekend will be joined by special guests Lulu Almeida, a percussionist and founding member of the group Olodum (which has worked with Paul Simon), and Ivson (a well-known Brazilian singer from the San Francisco Bay Area.) Tickets are $15 in advance, $17 at the door. Call 222-6911 for information.

RIFFS: Inn L’Auberge in Del Mar hopes its Labor Day Jazz Festival will grow into an annual event. Performances between 2 and 7 p.m. Sunday will feature Charles McPherson, Sol e mar, Los Travelers, Lori Bell, the North County All-Stars and Harry Pickens. . . .

Former San Diegan Kevyn Lettau handles lead vocals on four tracks on the new album from Velas, the group fronted by bassist Jose Marino and guitarist John Pisano. With a gentle Brazilian push from Pisano’s guitar, Lettau’s reading of “Whenever Your Heart Wants to Sing” is twice as soulful as the one included on her debut solo recording “Kevyn Lettau,” released earlier this year. . . .

Saxman Plas Johnson, who opens four nights at Elario’s on Thursday, will be interviewed at 11 a.m. Wednesday on KSDS-FM (88.3). . . .

Saturday’s jazz performance by pianist Andre Previn at Copley Symphony Hall downtown was supposed to be taped by KPBS-TV, which had been working on plans for a $70,000, five-camera production for more than a year and had lined up underwriting from Lexus, the car company. But last spring Lexus, which also underwrote the concert (a benefit for the La Jolla Chamber Music Society) decided not to fund the taping, and, in these recessionary times, KPBS was unable to secure replacement underwriting. . . .

The good news at KPBS is that PBS, the national public television system, plans to air six of KPBS’s “Club Date” jazz programs next winter. As part of the public television’s regular national schedule, the program will air on more than 320 stations, vastly expanding its audience and enhancing the possibility of landing a major corporate underwriter. PBS has selected shows featuring Mundell Lowe, Buddy Collette, Ray Anderson, Frank Morgan, Hank Jones and Rob Mullins. . . .

Latin jazz percussionist Pete Escovedo and his pop star daughter, Sheila E., play two shows Wednesday at the Bacchanal, at 8:30 and 10:30 p.m.

CRITIC’S CHOICE: JOE HENDERSON AT THE JAZZ NOTE

Flush with a new Polygram contract and last week’s initial recording session for the label, tenor saxophonist Joe Henderson plays the Jazz Note (above Diego’s restaurant) in Pacific Beach for four nights this week. Henderson, 54, has been a prolific figure in the jazz world since he broke in with Kenny Dorham and Horace Silver during the early 1960s. By his own estimation, Henderson has since played on more than 300 albums--with Kenny Burrell, Alice Coltrane, Herbie Hancock and a host of others. His last release was the 1986 “The State of the Tenor.” Henderson plays the Jazz Note at 8 and 10 p.m. Thursday and Sunday, 9 and 11 p.m. Friday and Saturday. He’ll be joined by pianist Harry Pickens, bassist Marshall Hawkins and drummer Mike Hyman.