Big-Band Sound on the Boulevard : Eighteen recording and film studio musicians find a venue in Sherman Oaks to play homage to their love of music from a bygone era

Outside, the ‘90s beckon, a decade waiting to be defined.

Inside, in a Sherman Oaks cafe, visitors take nostalgia trips to a time in America before rap, before MTV. Before Elvis.

Welcome to the late 1930s and early 1940s, to Duke Ellington’s “In a Mellow Tone,” Woody Herman’s “Early Autumn” and Glenn Miller’s “Tuxedo Junction.” On Monday nights, at the Moonlight Tango Cafe, the big-band sound is back.

Responsible for its resurrection is the Hollywood All-Star Big Band, a collection of 18 musicians who make their living at recording and film studios. The band offers them a much-needed outlet for their love of big-band music.

“It’s great to play with guys you don’t have to plug in,” said saxophonist Ray Pizzi, dubbed “The Pizza Man” because he delivers. “These are real instruments, not processed, and that’s a novelty these days.”

The band was assembled by Harvey Cohen, who composed or arranged the music for such films as “Robin Hood,” “Hudson Hawk” and television’s “Punky Brewster.” Cohen was mourning the death last summer of his father when his longtime friend, drummer Lew Malin, suggested that he put a band together.

“The man had that look on his face . . . and right away, I realized I had said the right thing,” Malin said.

The recession made Cohen’s task a lot easier, since musicians, unable to find studio work, had more free time. For the shows, they split the gate receipts, usually making about $30 to $60 each a night.

After rehearsing last fall, Cohen convinced the Moonlight’s owner, Ernie Criezis, to book the band, beginning in January. Criezis had staged big-band concerts in Houston during the late 1970s.

“We both love big bands,” said Lenetta Kidd, Moonlight’s entertainment director and one of its vocalists. “With the resurgence of the music through people like Harry Connick Jr., you’re seeing high school kids and yuppies interested in it, and, of course, older people have never stopped liking it.”

Certainly not Bobbi and Jack Lipson. When Jack turned 82 last month, the couple went to Moonlight to celebrate with the music of their youth in England.

“We’ve been doing this since we were very young,” said Bobbi Lipson of Burbank. “That used to be our recreation several times a week. You can dance to it.”

Or you can just sit back, relax and gaze at the room’s Art Deco light fixtures, created for the Majestic Theatre in Houston in 1921, or the black-and-white photographs showing cabaret night life in France during the 1930s.

For the most part, though, the crowd, spanning generations, participates in the evening, cheering the performers and swinging a bit in their seats.

That enthusiasm is matched by the band. Each song offers another opportunity for a soloist, and Cohen make sure everyone gets a chance to play. The musicians don’t believe in holding back, especially Cohen, 40, who grew up listening to Count Basie while his contemporaries were fascinated by the Beatles.

“I needed this to get reawakened again,” Cohen said. “In our business, we are often writing things that somebody else wants, and sometimes our creativity takes a back seat.”

Malin, who played drums on several Dionne Warwick albums, appreciates the freedom granted by the cafe.

“They haven’t told us what to play, which is something we always worry about,” said Malin, 53.

The band plays hits of such legends as Harry James, Stan Kenton, Buddy Rich and Jimmy Dorsey, George Gershwin and Nat King Cole. Cohen also mixes in a few of his original compositions.

Moonlight doesn’t restrict its nostalgic trips to Monday nights; on Tuesdays through Sundays, the restaurant features the Palm Beach Trio, which plays music from the Swing Era and the early days of rock ‘n’ roll.

On Mondays, Moonlight offers a limited menu--fish, beef tenderloin, pasta, salmon, chicken--with prices from $13 to $23. Appetizers and desserts are also served.

The Hollywood All-Star Big Band plays from 8 to 11:30 p.m. Mondays at the Moonlight Tango Cafe, 13730 Ventura Blvd., Sherman Oaks. Cover is $8 for the band, and an additional $9.95 minimum for food and beverages. Call (818) 788-2000.