Pete Jolly Trying to Shake TV Reputation

Pianist Pete Jolly has been a respected mainstay of the Los Angeles jazz scene since the mid-1950s, but the general public is more familiar with his piano playing from the soundtracks for movies and TV shows such as “Mannix,” “I Spy” and “Get Smart.”

At 60, Jolly wants to change that. While he still works regularly for the large and small screens, including a new TV miniseries on Frank Sinatra due to air later this year, Jolly has been concentrating on performing and recording with his trio, a tight, seasoned unit that has been together since the mid-1960s.

Jolly, who estimates he hasn’t played San Diego since the 1960s, appears at the Horton Grand Hotel downtown Friday and Saturday nights with his longtime trio sidekicks, bassist Chuck Berghofer and drummer Nick Martinis.

When he first moved to L.A. in 1954 after living in Connecticut and Arizona, Jolly joined trumpeter Shorty Rogers’ band. During the 1950s and 1960s--golden years for West Coast jazz--Jolly played with Chet Baker, Stan Getz and many other top artists.

In his own music, documented by more than a dozen recordings as a leader, Jolly, who names a pantheon of great jazz pianists including Bill Evans and Nat King Cole as influences, has displayed a penchant for delicate romantic ballads.

He had a pair of hits during the mid-1960s--at a time when Vince Guaraldi’s “Cast Your Fate to the Wind” made romantic piano a popular rage--with the songs “Little Bird” and “Sweet September.” Jolly considers himself a jazz player and likes to improvise, but these melodic, straightforward songs became popular on AM radio.

“The Pete Jolly Trio and Friends,” released last year, is a compilation of music from three of Jolly’s mid-1960s recordings. Settings range from bare trio, to trio with strings or full symphony orchestra.

The Pete Jolly Trio’s newest recording, released last year, is called the “25th Anniversary Gems Collection,” in honor of the trio’s 25th birthday, and includes some of Jolly’s favorite chestnuts, among them “Only a Rose,” “If I Were a Bell,” “Sunday,” plus a newer tune, pianist Kenny Barron’s “Voyage.”

Jolly’s plans for the next year include another “Gems” collection and a recording with L.A. vocalist Stephanie Haynes.

Although Jolly was in the midst of the L.A. jazz scene during the 1950s, when critics first began describing a distinct West Coast sound apart from the urgent, busy jazz New York City was, and still is, known for, he doesn’t put much stock in labels.

“Commercially speaking, they’ve come up with that idea, but I don’t really think there is such a thing,” he said. “If you want to call what they did in the Lighthouse (an L.A. club) days ‘West Coast,’ that’s where it started. But Shelly Manne came from New York, Shorty from Massachusetts, and most of the other guys were from other states.

“There was a period during the mid- to late-1950s, even the early 1960s, when lots of jazz recordings were being made here, and most of the artists lived here--Shorty, Art Pepper, Bill Holman, Jimmy Giuffre. I guess we were classified as West Coast because that’s where we lived.”

The Pete Jolly Trio will perform at 8:30 this Friday and Saturday nights. There’s a $10 cover charge.

Time Is Records, the San Diego jazz label, went out of business last month, but a new local jazz label is about to issue its first three releases.

Coronado-based Silver Strand Records is a partnership of Fred Moore, a music industry marketer and promoter whose local claim to fame is starting the Beach Boys’ summer concerts at Padre games, Jimmi Mayweather, who, Moore says, has engineered recordings by pop stars including Rod Stewart and Elton John, and Coronado dentist Bob Mansueto, who has invested most of Silver Strand’s $250,000 in start-up money.

Mansueto is also a jazz singer whose debut recording, featuring guest performances by Larry Carlton and Joe Pass, will be among Silver Strand’s initial releases.

But Silver Strand’s very first release is “Kiko,” the solo debut by San Diego guitarist Kiko Cibrian, a former member of the San Diego pop-jazz band Fattburger who has earned a good living in recent months as a member of young Mexican pop star Luis Miguel’s band.

Released in late June, “Kiko” is a 10-song collection including eight of Cibrian’s original tunes and featuring a guest spot by former Santana vocalist Greg Walker. It looks like a potential commercial winner. The Mac Report, a radio industry trade magazine, gave the recording a rave review, sandwiched between reviews of recordings by Nat Adderley and Najee. KIFM (98.1), the local bellwether for pop-jazz success, has already added five songs from Cibrian’s recording to its playlists.

After an initial pressing of 2,500 CDs, Silver Strand hired well-known independent L.A. music promoter Cliff Gorov to seek national radio play for “Kiko.” Early response from 320 stations has been so strong that Silver Strand is pressing another 8,500 copies in anticipation of growing demand.

In September, the label will release Mansueto’s recording, and in October, will follow with a collection of Stevie Wonder songs by San Diego guitarist Mark Augustin.

Moore acknowledges he has come across one difficulty that helped put Time Is out of business: finding distributors who will get recordings in stores and pay the label on time. But Silver Strand has the advantage of aiming solely for pop-jazz success, where Time Is tried to balance pop-jazz with straight-ahead releases that seldom sell well.

According to one insider at KIFM, Cibrian’s debut is a much more auspicious, viable offering than San Diego group Reel to Real’s “Through That Door,” released by Time Is before its demise. Both the songwriting and production values are solid. Reel to Real gained only modest air time on the station.

RIFFS: San Diego guitarist Dan Papaila, who says major labels have expressed interested in his demo tape, will be interviewed at 2 p.m. Friday by deejay Gerald Cirrincione on KSDS-FM (88.3). Papaila will also be featured at KSDS-FM’s “Jazz Live” concert at 8 p.m. Tuesday in the San Diego City College Theater on C Street. Meanwhile, guitarist Pat Metheny’s music will be featured on KSDS-FM’s “Portraits in Jazz” at 1 p.m. Saturday. . . . This Friday’s edition of “Club Date” on KPBS-TV (Channel 15) at 8 p.m. will feature San Diego flutist Holly Hofmann with fluegelhorn player Bobby Shew.

CRITIC’S CHOICE: KLUGH AT HUMPHREY’S

Guitarist Earl Klugh launched his career while still in his teens as a member of George Benson’s band. Sure enough, some of Benson’s knack for mass-appeal rubbed off on Klugh, who has chalked up a few pop-jazz successes of his own.

Klugh was also a member of Chick Corea’s Return to Forever, and launched his solo career with a string of 1970s recordings including “Dream Come True,” “Finger Painting” and “Crazy For You,” his first gold record. Klugh’s new release, a collaboration with keyboard player Bob James, is due out today.

This Thursday, Klugh plays shows at 7 and 9 at Humphrey’s Concerts by the Bay. Tickets are $20.