Getting Latin Jazz With Mucho Gusto

Orange County jazz fans get a new hangout with the opening of Mucho Gusto, a restaurant specializing in Central and South American cooking and with a musical bent toward Latin jazz.

The venue’s premiere is scheduled for Thursday when electric guitarist Phil Upchurch takes the bandstand.

Mucho Gusto is the brainchild of George Gallardo, who formerly was involved with jazz club-restaurant El Matador in Huntington Beach. El Matador will continue its current music policy, according to Luther Hughes, who books the entertainment there, and who will make frequent appearances at Mucho Gusto as well.

Gallardo says the new restaurant, unlike El Matador, was designed with the presentation of live music as an integral part of the operation. “We’ve set it up with a sound system designed specifically for the room, as well as giving everyone in the restaurant a view to the stage--diners can see the bandstand comfortably from anywhere they sit,” he said.

In addition, closed-circuit television will allow those in the bar a chance to view the dining-room entertainment from seven television screens.

The Mucho Gusto schedule will focus on contemporary jazz musicians and a sprinkling of Brazilian-influenced musicians with occasional eclectic acts including the Greene String Quartet and the Pandemonium Steel Drum Ensemble. Performers including saxophonists Wilton Felder, Brandon Fields, Justo Almario and Michael Paulo, pianist Liz Kinnon, bassist Max Bennett and bassist Hughes’ band, Cahoots, with saxophonist Sam Riney, are on tap in coming weeks.

“Some of the finest recording artists in the country who live on the West Coast will be in,” said Hughes. Like El Matador, there will be no cover charge for the music, Gallardo said.

The new restaurant is decorated in a Southwestern motif, according to Gallardo, with Central and South American touches. The menu focuses on Latin recipes, including grilled and broiled seafood as well as tropical fruits and sauces.

* Guitarist Phil Upchurch plays Thursday at 9 p.m at Mucho Gusto, 263 E. 17th St., Costa Mesa. Free. (714) 631-4009.