Hot Jazz and Blues Performers Blowing Into Town : Reunion: The music they love brings three top musicians together for first time in 10 years.

Reggae, rap, heavy metal, rock ‘n’ roll, pop jazz. You name it, saxophonist Tom Scott has played it, on, by his count, about 500 albums.

But, when Scott wants a meaningful escape, he turns to the music he has always worshiped.

“Coltrane, Cannonball and Miles are still the Holy Trinity,” said Scott, who plays the Jazz Note (above Diego’s restaurant) in Pacific Beach tonight through Sunday. Scott will play acoustic, mostly straight-ahead jazz, a return to basics in the spirit of his heroes, John Coltrane, Cannonball Adderley and Miles Davis.

Drummer John Guerin, a former San Diegan and one of Scott’s longest standing musical sidekicks, organized the dates, with prompting from Jazz Note operator Steve Satkowski.

“Steven asked if me and Tom would be interested, and we said we both would if Mike would,” said Guerin, referring to San Diego pianist Mike Wofford. The two were good friends from high school in San Diego. And, during the 1960s in Los Angeles, both were members of one of Scott’s earliest bands.

This week’s dates will mark the first time these three top players (who will be joined by bassist Tony Dumas) have performed together in at least 10 years, Guerin said.

Scott, 43, hasn’t slowed the pace or variety of his career since he first blazed the L.A. club circuit during the early 1970s with an electric jazz-rock band that eventually became known as the L.A. Express.

In retrospect, the L.A. Express, with its early-1970s fusion of jazz and rock influences, was an important part of a larger fusion movement that dominated the 1970s, but in those days, Scott wasn’t aware of doing something new.

“At the time, you don’t know that’s what you’re doing,” said Scott, who lives in Los Angeles and escapes on weekends to a 20-acre retreat in Tehachapi, north of Los Angeles. “What happened was, we were at the Baked Potato in Los Angeles every Tuesday night in the early 1970s as the Tom Scott Quartet, playing jazz. Our bass player, Max Bennett, brought in a few rock-oriented tunes. He was playing electric bass, and even that, as opposed to acoustic, was a sort of heresy.

“Anyway, he brought these tunes in, and we went from 25 people to 50 to 150 until you couldn’t get in the place. My motivations were not to be part of a larger musical movement. My motivations were, ‘The audience loves this, I think I’ll do it.’ ”

Scott’s 20th recording (“Keep This Love Alive”) as a leader was released last May and adds a vocal twist.

“In 19 albums, I’ve done a lot of stuff,” said Scott, who spends much of his spare time pulling down sports events on his satellite dish. “I thought it was time, since I’d worked with so many great vocalists, to have them work with me.”

Five of nine songs on the album feature vocals, and all of the songs except one were written or co-written by Scott with specific guest singers in mind.

The vocal numbers are testimony to Scott’s uncanny knack for writing accessible, romantic melodies. “Keep This Love Alive,” for example, is a soulful ballad sung by David Pack (former lead singer for Ambrosia). “Reason For Rain” is a tear-jerker sung by former Sons of Champlin leader Bill Champlin, and “Only a Heartbeat Away,” a funky love cruise with vocals by “Late Night With David Letterman” bassist Will Lee. And there is the album’s finale, “Whenever You Dream of Me,” featuring powerhouse singer Diane Schuur.

Sandwiched between the five vocal tunes are four instrumental tracks.

Scott’s first solo album was the 1968 “Honeysuckle Breeze,” an album of pop hits Scott now laughingly recalls as “stupid.” His legitimate debut was the follow-up, “Rural Still Life,” all straight-ahead jazz, also featuring Guerin.

It is difficult to keep a straight face when considering some of the collectible gems Scott has played on since then.

During the late 1960s, for example--when Scott was on a studio tear that often found him playing two or three sessions a week--he contributed to some of the all-time silliest pop music: television actor Chad Everett’s (he played Dr. Joe Gannon on “Medical Center”) vocal debut, plus albums by the Archies, John Davidson and David Cassidy.

But the majority of Scott’s musician associates over the years have been heavies in their fields: Joni Mitchell (with whom he did three albums), Paul McCartney (“Venus and Mars”), Michael Jackson (“Thriller”) and a host of others including Whitney Houston, Barbra Streisand and Steely Dan.

Scott seems to have played just about every musical style, including hard rock (with Pat Benatar and Eddie Money), blues (with Otis Spann), Brazilian (on vocalist Dori Caymmi’s new album), even rap (on a new release from a group called Voice Boxing).

From among his solo projects, Scott named a personal favorite: the 1975 album “Tom Cat,” which he considers the finest from the L.A. Express.

Along with his prodigious recording career, Scott has contributed music to numerous other projects, including television, movies and commercials.

He led the house band for the ill-fated revival of Carol Burnett’s variety show, canceled last week. He composed the theme for “The Maury Povich Show.” He led the band on comedian Pat Sajak’s late-night television talk show in 1989 and 1990, and he wrote and plays the music for a new movie titled “Shakes the Clown,” starring comedian Bobcat Goldthwait, due for release next year.

Scott took to music at an early age. His father, Nathan, composed music for television shows such as “Dragnet,” “Lassie” and “My Three Sons.”

By the time he was 8, Scott was playing clarinet. He switched to saxes in high school and has since expanded his repertoire to include just about any woodwind instrument a producer demands.

Scott was considered primarily a tenor man for many years, but has switched his allegiance.

“I rather lean toward the alto these days,” he said. “It’s something hard to describe, a feeling the you have better control, that you can communicate better.”

Scott, who said his all-time favorite album is the 1958 Miles Davis release, “Milestones,” plans to make a new straight-ahead album of his own next year.

Beyond that, he doesn’t have many unfulfilled dreams.

“I guess I’ll just roll up and die,” he said.