Hot Jazz and Blues Performers Blowing Into Town : * Sidemen: Fans come from miles around to see Maurice Miller and Sweet Grease.

Sidemen, the professional musicians who back recording artists in the studio and on tour, exemplify what could be called the “Reverse Peter Principle.” By the time they have developed the technical skills to perform at the highest levels, they are overqualified for many of the jobs they play, whether it is backing a teeny-bopper sensation, adding stock licks to a commercial jingle or playing a support role to a mainstream performer--all of which involve just a fraction of the instrumentalists’ musical pedigree.

One common outlet for frustrated players is the “session band,” a group formed by sidemen for the dual purpose of playing “real” music in a context that encourages the full engagement of their technical abilities. Occasionally, these session bands attain a degree of fame, as in the cases of the Eagles (originally coalesced to back Linda Ronstadt), the Section (James Taylor) and Uncle Festive (Barry Manilow).

Lately, lines have been forming outside a club in L.A. to catch the sparks from a current session band--Maurice Miller and Sweet Grease--who will play at Elario’s in La Jolla tonight, and again on Sunday and Dec. 13.

Besides Miller, a drummer and vocalist in fiddler Papa John Creach’s band, the all-star cast of Sweet Grease includes keyboardist Dwayne Smith, (who’s played with Rolling Stone Bill Wyman and Tina Turner); drummer Denny Seiwell (Paul McCartney and Wings); bassist-vocalist David Faragher (Lou Reed, DeBarge, the Monkees, the Pointer Sisters), and guitarist Miles Joseph (the Neville Brothers, Aretha Franklin, Natalie Cole, REO Speedwagon, the Ohio Players and Bob Dylan).

Miller, 59, spoke with the enthusiasm of an upstart when he acknowledged in a phone interview from L.A. this week that Sweet Grease was formed with one goal in mind: to blow hot and hard.

“Dwayne and I have been playing around together about 25 years,” he said. “Four years ago, Dwayne said he’d like to play with Denny Seiwell, who wanted to play with David Faragher. So, the four of us played together for about 2 1/2 years. Miles Joseph started sitting in with us about a year and a half ago. We’ve all played many kinds of music over the years, but we decided what we really wanted to be was a very modern blues band. We don’t lay back too much; we’re basically a ‘hot’ band.”

Miller is an accomplished drummer who played with the Association for seven years, and with Lena Horne for five. He also drummed in the L.A. productions of “Hair,” “Pal Joey,” and “Tommy.” Yet, he gladly relinquished that role in Sweet Grease to Seiwell, and is perfectly content to be the lead vocalist.

“When we put this thing together, Dwayne said, ‘It looks ridiculous for you to sit behind the drums singing,’ ” Miller explained, laughing. “So, I just sing, and that’s fine with me. I sing in Papa John’s band, and I used to sing duets with Lena. Besides, when you hear Denny play, you know we don’t need anybody else getting near the drums!”

Sweet Grease’s repertoire was assembled with maximum R&B-; burn in mind.

“We do some originals, and some B.B. King and Muddy Waters, but we do a lot of Joe Cocker and Ray Charles tunes,” Miller said. “We stay away from the old, country style of blues in favor of the hot, more contemporary stuff. And people seem to love it.”

Indeed. At the cleverly named Residuals, a 150-capacity club in Studio City owned and operated by writers, Sweet Grease has been drawing turn-away crowds for almost three years. According to Miller, some of the band’s fans regularly come up from La Jolla to hear them. The venue, which is unique even for L.A., has become a magnet for a wide array of personalities.

“The manager of the place was a gag writer for Johnny Carson, and others have written for shows like ‘All My Children,’ ” Miller said. “There are writers of all kinds in there, and the policy is, if you come in with any kind of residual check, you get a free drink. The place is just packed out the door every Saturday when we play. This past Saturday, we started playin’ at 9, and by 10 there was a long line at the door, and there was still a line at 1 in the morning. But what I like about it is we attract a mish-mash of people, from heavy- metal musicians to older blues cats.”

Blues bands, especially those manned by untrendy veterans, rarely make it onto the short lists of Hollywood record scouts. But one can only ignore a hot property for so long, and the word about Sweet Grease is spreading in the Big Orange.

“Some Warner Brothers guys came in two weeks ago with (famous drummer) Bernard Purdie and were just blown away,” Miller said, crowing. “What was so great was that they didn’t come to check us out, they were just out to hear some music. Well, Bernard got up and played a whole set with us, and it was just incredible. So, the Warners guys are coming back on purpose this Saturday night.”

But, if Sweet Grease doesn’t land a record deal, it won’t matter to the musicians involved. Groups like this form precisely to get away from the corruptive influences of the music industry; the objective is to play what and how they want.

“When you hear Dwayne play, you’ll understand why we formed the band,” Miller said. “Here’s a guy who plays great jazz piano, great classical piano, and great blues piano, and he knows how to keep them all separate. In Sweet Grease, Dwayne’s got the freedom to play what he wants, and yet he always plays what’s right for the moment. Every musician in this band has played with the best in several different fields, but in Sweet Grease we all let our hair down and just cook. And that’s why people keep coming back to hear us.”

Maurice Miller and Sweet Grease will perform tonight; Sunday and Dec. 13, at Elario’s, in the Summer House Inn, 7955 La Jolla Shores Drive, La Jolla. Shows are at 8:30 and 10:30 p.m. each night. There is no cover charge. For more information, call 459- 0541.