Veteran Papa John Creach Hits Stage with New Music

The recording industry ignores dozens of talented artists who, for whatever reason, don’t fit its profile of what will sell. Some are young up-and-comers struggling for a foothold. But others, such as Papa John Creach, are seasoned pros who have proven their mettle over years of creativity.

Creach hadn’t made a recording of his own since 1978, when bluesman Bernie Pearl lured the violinist into the studio in February and March for some all-blues sessions with Pearl’s Blues Band. The result was released this month on Pearl’s own independent label, Bee Bump Records.

Pearl, who plays the Jazz Note in Pacific Beach with Creach this weekend, proclaims the recording industry’s apparent lack of interest in Creach “shocking.”

“I brought this up to a producer years ago,” Pearl said, “and he said, ‘people have Papa John material sitting on the shelves and it won’t sell.’ At the time, I was hardly working with Papa and had never produced anything myself, but it just seemed curious to me. Some of the most notable artists go the longest time without putting out an album, and you wonder why.”

Titled “Papa Blues,” Creach’s new collection of 11 originals (mostly by Pearl and his bandmates) and two blues standards marks the first time Creach, who generally favors jazzified standards and popular American tunes, has made a recording 100% devoted to the blues.

Although Creach, who lives in Los Angeles, has earned a living performing since the 1930s, he didn’t gain a sizable following until the 1970s, when his electric violin helped propel the Jefferson Airplane and Jefferson Starship.

The new recording with the Bernie Pearl Blues Band came about after a tour Pearl and Creach made last fall with bluesman Harmonica Fats.

“I had done an album with Harmonica Fats (“I Had To Get Nasty”) and we were selling it every night on stage, and Papa and his wife (Gretchen) sat back in admiration and said, ‘Fats sure can sell, we’d like to have an album,’ ” Pearl explained. “We got together and started talking and worked out something whereby Papa was a partner.”

The album’s direction was refined in November as Creach and Pearl accompanied Fats on a tour of the Pacific Northwest.

“We were traveling in my van, and we got a lot of talking done,” Pearl said. “Papa and his wife told me stories about how they met and stuff, and I said I’d come up with some tunes.”

While the arrival of a new Creach recording is a significant event, the music isn’t completely satisfying. On some cuts, Creach doesn’t seem entirely comfortable with the straight blues setting. His penchant for long, drawn-out melodic lines is at odds with the chopping, driving blues beat. On other numbers, though, the chemistry comes together and Creach turns in electrifying performances.

One of these comes on “Scufflin’,” a song Pearl built around a catchy little riff he often uses to bring Creach out on stage at live performances. Over a slow, percolating funk beat, with Pearl’s band taking a back seat, Creach delivers a charged but too-short solo before yielding to a chain of improvisational turns by his bandmates.

Another highlight is “Baby Please Don’t Go,” on which Pearl’s slide guitar and Creach’s violin swap lines happily, their sexy, slinky sounds making an excellent match.

Pearl, who plays rhythm and slide guitars, produced the new release. He deserves credit for coaxing Creach into singing eight songs, including Pearl’s original, “Old Fashioned Papa,” and the traditional blues standard “Bumble Bee Blues.”

Creach is not a classic blues belter, but at 75, he possesses a humble charm that comes across in his warm, knowing, understated vocals.

Pearl said the shows at the Jazz Note would include songs from “Papa Blues,” along with additional blues standards and some of Creach’s longtime favorites. Shows are at 8 and 10 this Friday and Saturday night, 7 and 9 Sunday night.

Croce’s, the downtown club owned by the late singer Jim Croce’s widow, Ingrid, has given this year’s Jim Croce Music Awards to jazz saxophonist Hollis Gentry and blues singer Earl Thomas. Each will receive $1,000 and a plaque in the club. Awards go only to musicians who play Croce’s.

“They seemed to be the most promising musicians from the club in jazz and R&B;,” Ingrid Croce said. “Not only is their music an example, but also the way in which they deal with their engagements at Croce’s and the people they come in contact with.”

San Diego saxman Daniel Jackson won the first Croce award in 1990; last year’s winners were Janiva Magness and Joe Marillo. Gentry and Thomas’ plaques are due to be installed this week.

RIFFS: San Diego State University’s policy of “deep, vertical” cuts has, for the moment, spared the music department, which includes the fine San Diego State University Jazz Ensemble under the direction of Bill Yeager. Meanwhile, at UC San Diego, any cutbacks won’t be known until the state budget is settled and the implications filter down through UC Regents to individual campuses this summer. No official word on the future of UCSD’s jazz and improvisation programs, including professors Jimmy Cheatham, Bert Turetzky and George Lewis, although some professors are speculating about rumored salary cuts. . . .

Manhattan Transfer’s 8 p.m. show today at Humphrey’s Concerts by the Bay--the band’s second of two nights at the bay-front venue--is sold out.

CRITIC’S CHOICE

JAZZ TRIO FEATURING FLUTIST LORI BELL IN FREE SHOW

Jazz Society Founder John Lawrence is promoting San Diego flutist Lori Bell’s jazz trio as the “Ergonomic Gastronimers” for a Wednesday night concert downtown. Bell howled when she heard the new name, but had no idea where it came from. Lawrence wasn’t available for comment.

What is known is that the trio brings together Bell and her longtime musical associate, Los Angeles pianist Dave Mackay, with San Diego guitarist Ron Satterfield.

Satterfield adds a new dimension to the combination of Bell and Mackay. All three musicians write original music. Mackay and Satterfield both sing. On numbers such as Benny Golson’s laid-back “Killer Joe,” the melody is expressed in tight three-part harmony consisting of the two voices plus Bell’s flute.

Tonight’s free show at the downtown Central Library starts at 7. The trio also will play Friday night at the Jazz Bakery, the prestigious Los Angeles club run by jazz singer Ruth Price.