Jazz Emigre Finds Voice in America : Pianist: After secretly performing in Soviet-ruled Hungary in the ‘50s, Les Czimber came to the U.S., where luck has been on his side ever since.

Like so many Eastern European jazz musicians, Hungarian pianist Les Czimber started thinking about life in these United States when listening to Willis Conover’s jazz program on “Voice of America” radio.

“When I was a kid, I’d hear him play Dave Brubeck, George Shearing and Oscar Peterson,” the Budapest native said. “I just knew I’d have to come to the United States. All the best jazz players in the world are here. You have to be here to be part of it.”

Czimber tried to play jazz under the Soviet regime, which took over Hungary in 1956, but without much success.

“I formed a band like Shearing’s, with a saxophone player instead of the vibes he featured, and we played illegal dances and parties held by students in rented halls,” said Czimber, who plays tonight and Sunday at Gustaf Anders restaurant in Santa Ana.

“But the government was completely against American jazz,” he said. “Soon a write-up in the paper said that my band and I were playing American music, and fostering imperialist ideas. So I went back to being an accountant.”

In 1957, with the arrival of the Soviets and annexation of his homeland by Moscow, Czimber, who now lives in Westminster, decided the time for expatriation was ripe. He and a friend, in relative ease, took a train to a stop near the Yugoslav border, then walked for nine hours toward what they thought was freedom.

“But it was like exchanging one kind of communism for another,” says Czimber, referring to the political climate in Yugoslavia, where a slightly Westernized form of communism was espoused by its then-leader, Josip Tito.

Czimber managed to get a travel visa and landed in Milwaukee in October, 1957, “after a very rough plane flight--I had a broken leg from a terrible jeep accident in Yugoslavia,” he says.

Fate seemed to be on his side. Just as Czimber has been very active in Orange County, where he moved in the early ‘70s, he found work right away in Milwaukee, where the mostly self-taught musician was staying with a relative.

“I started doing two nights a week at this place called the Driftwood Lounge, and soon I was there seven nights, with a scale of $10 a night,” he says. “To make extra money, I’d clean the place up in the morning. That paid an extra $45.

Two years later, Czimber’s big break walked right through the front door: Milwaukee native Al Jarreau came and sat in.

“(Jarreau) sang like a cross between Nat King Cole and Johnny Mathis, and when he was home, and not off studying psychology at University of Iowa, he worked there five nights a week,” Czimber recalled.

The pair remained at the Driftwood until 1965, when Jarreau suggested they try the San Francisco area because it would be, as Czimber put it, “hipper.”

It was. They began in San Jose, where--wouldn’t you know it--one of the Driftwood’s partners owned the Makka Lounge. The pianist and singer were there for five months. Jarreau then moved to San Francisco--they have worked together only rarely since--and Czimber stayed at the Makka.

Czimber’s playing reveals a light, dancing touch and a melodic and harmonic acuity that’s in the manner of the great Bill Evans, whom he gladly singles out as his main influence. He talks with pleasure of the time when Evans, taking a day off from a trio engagement in San Francisco, visited with Czimber at his home in San Jose.

Czimber came to Southern California in 1971, and to Orange County two years later. He began working hotels, often in the company of first-rate jazz musicians, among them guitarist Ron Eschete, reed man Sam Most and Chick Corea bassist John Patitucci.

Czimber arrived at Gustaf Anders two years ago, at first subbing for pianist Ronnie Brown, and then eventually working Thursdays through Saturdays, playing classic pop standards and jazz classics.

“We’re kind of in the background,” he said, “but people seem to really appreciate it. It’s not like a regular jazz gig, but I like it.”

Currently, Czimber’s trio--bassist Bruce Lett and drummer Nick Martinis also backs a guest artist in a jam session format the last Sunday of each month. Saxophonists Bob Cooper and Bill Perkins, and trumpeters Shorty Rogers and Conte Candoli are just four of the honorees.

This Sunday, Czimber’s crew is joined by trumpeter Jerry Burns, trombonist Rick Culver and saxophonist Bill Liston, and the scene will be slightly different from past affairs.

“We’re going to put down a dance floor, so people can dance if they want to,” Czimber says, “though we’ll still be playing jazz, so you can listen, too.”

How has his life in a new homeland turned out? “Even though I don’t always get to play the music I want to--improvised jazz--I’ve been very fortunate. Still, I wish there were more places to play jazz, and more support from the general public.”

Overall, though, the musician sounds a bit like Jackie Gleason when he speaks of his adopted home: “It’s the greatest.” Les Czimber plays at Gustaf Anders restaurant, 1651 Sunflower Ave. (in South Coast Plaza Village), Santa Ana. Performances Thursdays from 6:30 to 10:30 p.m., Fridays from 7 to 11 p.m., and Saturdays from 8 p.m. to midnight. On Sunday, Czimber leads a sextet from 5:30 to 9:30 p.m. Admission: free. Information: (714) 668-1737.