JAZZ : Down for a Tribute to the Count

Paying tribute to Count Basie is nothing new for the Capp-Pierce Juggernaut.

“The band started with that premise,” says Frankie Capp, drummer and co-leader of the group. “Our first date 16 years ago was a tribute to the Count.”

The Juggernaut will steam into the Dana Point Resort Sunday afternoon to pay homage once again to the bandleader, pianist and composer. The concert is a fund-raiser for the Capistrano Valley Symphony.

The orchestra currently includes a number of Basie alumni, including trumpeter Snooky Young, trombonist Buster Cooper and saxophonist Marshal Royal (who’ll be making his first appearance since undergoing heart surgery this summer). Drummer Capp, who also had heart surgery last April but now says he is playing “full bore again,” played with Basie in a number of televised appearances. Co-leader Nat Pierce took the Count’s seat at the piano while the bandleader was recovering from a heart attack in the mid ‘70s.

“We’ll be doing a number of things that Basie made famous,” says Capp, “ ‘April In Paris,’ ‘Shiny Stockings.’ But we’ll also be doing some of our own tunes.”

Other Juggernaut notables include popular “Tonight Show” trumpeter Conte Candoli and trumpeter Billy May of San Clemente. For this appearance, the band will add guests Jack Sheldon, who’ll be singing as well as playing trumpet, and singer Barbara Morrison, who, Capp promises, will put her dynamic voice to “Every Day I Have the Blues,” a tune Joe Williams made famous with the Basie band.

Not that working with vocalists is anything new for the Juggernaut. Williams, who first came into the public eye with “Every Day” in the mid ‘50s, appears on the band’s “Live at the Century Plaza” album. (The band’s latest releases include “Juggernaut Orchestra Strikes Again” with singer Ernie Andrews, recorded in 1981, and “Live at the Alley Cat” with vocalist Ernestine Anderson.)

“Basie was the innovator in big band swing music,” Capp says. “He always had very inventive musicians who left us a great legacy. And our band is dedicated to that style.”

What: A Salute to Count Basie with the Capp-Pierce Juggernaut. A fund-raiser for the Capistrano Valley Symphony.

When: Sunday, Oct. 27. The event begins with cocktails at 11:30 a.m.; brunch will be served at 12:30 p.m.; music starts at 1:30 p.m.

Where: Dana Point Resort, 25135 Street of the Park Lantern, Dana Point.

Whereabouts: Take the San Diego Freeway south to the Coast Highway exit. Follow Coast Highway about 1 1/4 miles, then go left on Del Obispo Street and right on Street of the Park Lantern.

Wherewithal: $45.

Where to Call: (714) 496-6040.