Ron Anthony Will Work the String Shift at Maxwell’s : Jazz: The guitarist will appear in Huntington Beach before backing Frank Sinatra at some out-of-state sites.

One night earlier this week, guitarist Ron Anthony could be found tuning his custom-made D’Angelico in the downstairs lounge at Chadney’s restaurant, across the street from the NBC-TV studios. In a tiny room that holds fewer than 80 people, he was working with singer-keyboardist Patrick Tuzzolino, who opened with a relaxed, undemanding vocal version of “Route 66” that seemed just right for the laid-back atmosphere.

But the tune suddenly switched gears when Anthony began to solo, mixing quick-paced, talkin’-to-ya lines with moments of chordal play, both presented with an irresistible swing. The tune finished with his snappy accompaniment behind Tuzzolino’s voice. The room, which seats fewer than 80 people, erupted with applause.

Next week, Anthony will be working an entirely different scene. Again, he’ll be backing a singer, but the sites will an upscale benefit at New York’s Waldorf-Astoria Hotel, followed by a Super Bowl week concert in Bloomington, Minn. Later on this year, they will play London, then Barcelona during the Summer Olympics.

Oh, yes--the singer he’ll be working with is Frank Sinatra.

Anthony, who plays Sunday at Maxwell’s by the Sea in Huntington Beach, has worked with the Chairman of the Board since 1986. He said he owes the job to Nancy Reagan and Queen Elizabeth II.

“In ‘84, I performed at a party Sinatra threw for them at 20th Century Fox, with a trio led by his longtime pianist Bill Miller,” Anthony, 58, said. “It was the first time I met him, though he said he saw me play with (pianist George) Shearing many years before. Later there was an opening in the band and (Miller) reminded him of me and I got the job.”

Anthony estimates that he spends about three months a year traveling with the esteemed vocalist, who’s 76. “Last year, we were in Europe for a month. We did a couple of weeks in Japan and Australia as well as appearances here (in the United States).”

When Anthony isn’t touring with Sinatra, he’s busy playing jazz at such Los Angeles venues as Chadney’s, Pierre’s in Los Feliz and La Strada in Santa Monica, sometimes in small combos, sometimes solo. “Though working with Sinatra is more of an accompanying thing, it’s in the same world. But when I do a jazz date, it’s a more creative thing for me.”

Anthony, born in Pittsburgh, started out on clarinet with the idea that he’d move on to the saxophone. But when he was 16, “I just saw this guitar in a store window and went in and picked it up and played it. That was it. I just wasn’t happy with the clarinet.”

Early on, Anthony said, he listened to Nat King Cole and George Shearing. Guitarists Tal Farlow and Jimmy Raney also provided inspiration. But he credits Art Tatum and Miles Davis for pointing the way.

“Miles was one of my biggest influences,” he said. “I loved his groups with (pianist) Red Garland and (drummer) Philly Joe Jones. And Miles, the way he played, that economic style--few but beautiful notes. I used to see Miles in Pittsburgh and would talk to him about Art Tatum. I told him all the critics were saying Tatum sounded old-fashioned. Miles laughed. He said Art Tatum was ahead of his time.”

Anthony moved to New York in 1961 and spent five years there playing for the likes of Shearing, singer Morgana King, pianist Peter Nero and trumpeter Blue Mitchell. He came to California in 1965.

“I had gone back to Pittsburgh and was a little bored and wanted to go where there was a little more action,” he said. “So I came out here and things started going well for me. At that time there was a lot of work for musicians. These days, things have slowed considerably.”

In addition to studio work, Anthony has made on-screen appearances in Blake Edwards’ “Blind Date” and “Sunset,” as well as a TV spot in “Taxi.” He also coached Eric Roberts on guitar in his role for the 1983 Bob Fosse film “Star 80.”

“(Roberts) was an interesting guy,” Anthony said. “At one point, he told me, ‘I play a little guitar but I have to play badly in this scene. Coach me on playing badly.’ ”

In 1969, Anthony cut an album entitled “Oh, Calcutta!” for producer Bob Thiele and Impulse! Records.

“I did four songs with (saxophonist) Plas Johnson, a couple were originals. I do a bit of writing. George (Shearing) has recorded a couple of my tunes. Shirley Bassey has recorded a couple.”

Currently the guitarist is shopping an album he’s recorded that balances his solo work and his occasional vocal with small group numbers with a combo that includes keyboardist Frank Strazzeri, bassist Andy Simpkins, drummer Dick Berk and trumpeter Conte Candoli.

“I’ve known Conte for over 30 years,” Anthony said. “I played with both him and his brother (trumpeter Pete Candoli) in the (Stan) Kenton Neophonic Orchestra when I first moved out here.”

When he’s not on the road, Anthony teaches guitar and jazz improvisation part time at Pierce College in Woodland Hills and takes on a few private students. He’s also the author of an instructional book entitled, appropriately enough in light of his work with singers, “Comping,” the musicians’ shorthand term for “accompaniment.”

Despite the focus today on the guitar as a rock ‘n’ roll instrument, Anthony is optimistic about the jazz guitar’s future. “There will always be an interest in jazz guitar and jazz,” he said. “It’s so much a part of our musical history. Young kids love playing jazz because it’s so involved. There are jazz classes in every college now. When I was coming up I couldn’t even find a place to study guitar.”

“People like Segovia and Django Reinhardt have brought the guitar so far. . . . But there’s still so much that’s unexplored.

“On piano, the ways of playing are more set. But on the guitar you find your own way; you have to develop your own style and way of playing.”

Guitarist Ron Anthony appears at 2 p.m. Sunday with pianist Paul Smith, bassist Jim DeJulio and drummer Jimmy DeJulio at Maxwell’s by the Sea, 317 Pacific Coast Highway, Huntington Beach. Admission: $4. Information: (714) 536-2555.