Brothers Put Note of Fun in Jazz Act : Music: Pete and Conte Candoli will perform tonight in Newport Beach. The two ‘have a ball,’ Pete says, despite their different performing styles.

Put two brothers together in a business and bankruptcy may loom on the horizon. Put them together on a bandstand and be prepared to duck the dissonances.

So how is it that trumpet-playing freres Pete and Conte Candoli have been hanging out together musically--and apparently amicably--for nearly half a century?

“Easy,” Pete said. “We have a ball. Believe it or not, there’s never been a rough word between us.”

And, Conte said, “we don’t let stylistic differences get in the way.” This is despite the fact that Pete has long been one of jazz’s premiere high-note lead trumpeters and Conte is best known as an improvising soloist.

“Look at it this way,” Pete said. “It’s not a matter of styles. It’s all jazz, regardless of what the interpretation is; whether it’s based on blues, or pop, or whatever, it hardly matters. Sometimes we play outside-type stuff, sometimes we play more inside. But it’s all just music. If it’s good, it’s good. If it isn’t, well, then it doesn’t really matter what style it is.”

Orange County jazz fans will have an opportunity to experience the Candolis’ evaluations firsthand tonight, when the brothers’ ensemble will appear as the latest entry in the Hyatt Newporter’s summer jazz series.

Typically, they will present a program that is a happy balance between jazz and entertainment. There will be a few standards, of course--probably “Willow Weep for Me” and “Caravan”--along with more unusual items like “On the Trail.”

“And,” Pete added, “we’ll do a tune written by my favorite trumpet player--Conte, my brother--titled ‘Echo,’ which is very clever, in which we echo each other back and forth. Plus, we’ll play our tribute to other trumpet players--Dizzy Gillespie, Louis Armstrong and Bunny Berigan, including all the original cadenzas that Bunny did 50 years ago on ‘I Can’t Get Started.’ ”

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Pete, who once wore a Superman costume while performing a specialty number called “Superman With a Horn” with the Woody Herman band, has no reservations about reaching out to share a musical moment with his audience. His gravel-throated impression of Armstrong is a near legend, even though it came to life spontaneously.

“The first time I did my version of Louis was when I was touring in Japan with Benny Carter and a bunch of all-stars,” Pete said. “Well, they love Satchmo over there, and at that time the biggest thing in Japan other than the national anthem was (Armstrong’s recording of) ‘When You’re Smiling.’ So when somebody found out that I could sing like Louis--that was it, I had to do it at every concert.” In fact, one time, at a concert in Tokyo with Lionel Hampton, I started singing it and all the fans joined in like it was a sing-along.”

The 65-year-old Conte, the more laid-back of the brothers, has been an authentic jazz star since his early days with the Woody Herman and Stan Kenton bands. More recently, he was a member of Doc Severinsen’s “Tonight Show” orchestra. As it has for others in that group, the changing of the guard at the show has meant the end of an important personal and professional era.

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“It’s as a drag, no doubt about that,” he said. “I miss the guys and I miss the gig, but it was the end of the gig, and you just have to go on from there.”

Pete, at 69, is as vigorous and enthusiastic as he was when he was ripping off the high lead-trumpet parts with the big bands of Ray McKinley, Tommy Dorsey, Herman, Boyd Raeburn, Les Brown and Kenton--to name only a few. His solid, practical view of the aesthetics of music hasn’t changed since the day he hopped the first band bus away from his hometown of Mishawaka, Ind.

“There’s good in all kinds of music,” he said. “Sure, there can be bad country music, there can be bad pop and there’s bad jazz. But there’s good, too, and it all depends on what you bring to it and how you go about it. Somebody like Charlie Parker could say all he had to say in two or three choruses, but if you don’t have anything to say, you can play 30 choruses, and it still won’t come out right.”

After nearly five decades in the music trenches, playing instruments that can be physically demanding, the Candoli brothers seem none the worse for wear. And, typically, they’re in agreement about their chosen profession.

“We’re like tap dancers,” said Pete. “Like Fred Astaire. Did he wear out as he got older? I don’t think so. He enjoyed what he was doing. We’re the same way--I don’t know what else either of us would do if we didn’t play the trumpet.”

“Yeah,” added Conte. “It’s a real nice way to make a living.”

The Conte Candoli Quartet plays jazz tonight at 7:30 at the Hyatt Newporter, 1107 Jamboree Road, Newport Beach. $8. (714) 729-1234.