Plumbing S.D.’s Diversity : Jazz: Two straight-ahead sax men bring their driving sounds of the ‘50s and ‘60s.

Tom Scott recently revived his love affair with the driving straight-ahead jazz of the 1950s and 1960s. Bobby Watson has devoted his career to it. Both have critically acclaimed new recordings out, both play saxophones. And this weekend, fans can hear them both at San Diego Street Scene.

Scott’s press kit calls him, without qualification, “the most prolific artist around.” This is probably the only case where the artist lives up to the hype. Scott has played on more than 500 albums.

Michael Jackson, Whitney Houston, Barbra Streisand and Joni Mitchell have been among the beneficiaries of his chameleonic ability to fit in a variety of contexts. Along with his prodigious output as a sideman, Scott has made 20 recordings of his own, developing a sizable following for his inventive but accessible playing and composing.

He was among the first musicians to merge jazz, pop, funk and blues into something called “fusion” during the early 1970s, and various hybrid approaches to jazz served him well for the next 20 years.

But when it came time to make his fifth recording for GRP, the giant New York jazz label, Scott, 44, decided to break from his familiar path.

“Born Again,” released this year, is his first solo straight-ahead jazz recording since the 1967 “Rural Still Life.”

Many of Scott’s fans may be unfamiliar with straight-ahead jazz, but he is no stranger to the music.

“This is the music I grew up with as a teen-ager,” Scott said. “It was my first love in my formative years. You never lose the spot you have in your heart for that. Anybody who played sax back then was into Coltrane, Cannonball, Bird, because there was no pop or fusion.”

Scott was invigorated by the experience of recording “Born Again.” Once he decided to do it, he wrote seven new songs in two months, and selected Wayne Shorter’s “Children of the Night” as an opener.

Actually, Scott returned to straight-ahead jazz for the first time earlier this year, when he wrote and played on two songs for GRP’s “All-Star Big Band” release. Making his own new recording, he says he was inspired by playing alongside musicians such as Randy Brecker, Pete Christlieb and Kenny Kirkland.

“It was a very creative setting in which to work,” said Scott by phone from his home in the San Fernando Valley, where he lives with his wife and two children. “In the fusion style, the emphasis is more on the production of the song and the arranging and the ambience. In straight-ahead jazz, it’s more on the playing at the moment, creative improvisation. They are equally challenging pursuits, but different.

“I’ve always enjoyed a challenge. I’m a guy who--sit me down next to the greatest musicians you can find, people who really kick my butt, and that tends to bring out the best in me.”

Scott’s enthusiasm is carrying over to recent live performances. Four months ago, he hand-picked a road band of lesser-known but extremely talented players: drummer Johnny Friday, guitarist Jerry Lopez, keyboardist Tom McMorran and bassist Neil Steubenhaus.

Although the small, tight group can’t duplicate the big two- and three-part horn harmonies on “Born Again,” Scott says his touring band captures the new release’s essential energy. The group is also versatile enough to tackle the full range of music featured in Scott’s live shows, from his older fusion to his new straight-ahead stuff.

Meanwhile, Scott is still much in demand outside jazz. He composed music for the movie “Shakes the Clown,” released earlier this year, and scored an upcoming television movie tentatively titled “Nothing Personal” starring Bruce Dern and Amanda Donahoe.

While Scott rode assorted musical styles to notoriety, Watson has been a straight-ahead jazz devotee since he joined the late drummer Art Blakey’s band in 1977.

“I’ve been lucky to be able to do one thing,” said Watson by phone from the New York high-rise home he shares with his wife and two kids, when asked to compare his relatively singular career path with Scott’s diversity. “But in terms of survival, I’ve played all types of music. I’ve played funk, done weddings, played dance music just to make ends meet.

“I think it’s just a matter of location. Tom maybe was a West Coast guy, the (straight-ahead) scene may not be as intense out there, in terms of being clearly defined. There is a hard-core jazz scene here in New York, as well as a funk scene, with people like David Sanborn and Will Lee. I could have went that way, but when I met Art, he was such a powerful influence, I sort of made a choice.”

At 39, Watson is too old to have caught the straight-ahead jazz brat-pack boom that began with trumpeter Wynton Marsalis’ mid-1980s rise to stardom. But Watson has enjoyed a career surge of his own, making the cover of Downbeat last year, also being featured in a Newsweek profile of top middle-aged jazz players who are finally starting to get their share of attention.

“I seem to be on a little roll,” said Watson, whose new release, “Present Tense,” comes closest of any yet to replicating the explosive live energy of Watson and his four bandmates in Horizon, which also features drummer Victor Lewis.

“I think things have changed in the last year or so. At the time those articles were written, I had talked about that a lot, how, when I first got to New York (in 1976), the main goal of every musician was to hit his stride around 40, because all the guys we looked up to were in their 40s. It was a longer process.

“Then when Wynton came along, it sort of became instant discovery. Wynton is definitely quality, he just triggered the whole thing, every label was looking for their personal version of him.

“I think record companies are starting to come back to some of the guys who have paid dues, Joe Lovano, myself, people who have been out here awhile.”

Watson’s new recording is on Columbia, a Sony affiliate, whereas his previous three were on Blue Note. He is pleased with the new deal, the interest from a major label, the benefits the association could bring.

For one thing, Watson said Columbia has the “horsepower,” i.e. money, to record several nights at a club for a live album he’d like to do.

“My favorite artists, I’ve always enjoyed them more live. Once I’ve heard them live, it’s difficult to listen to recordings. You appreciate it when you look back on classic recordings, where ‘Trane and some of those guys did capture it (their live sound, in the studio).”

Watson’s live shows at Street Scene will include material from “Present Tense,” as well as from some of his 13 other releases as a leader dating back to “Estimated Time of Arrival,” his 1977 debut.

“I try to mix it up, because a lot of people that come to the shows still want to hear stuff from the Blue Note period, even before, if they’ve been into my band for years. We take requests, as long as we’ve recorded it. We keep a lot of the old stuff in the book.”

Although Watson is dyed-in-the-wool straight-ahead, he says he wouldn’t mind stretching into other areas.

He played on the sound track for director Spike Lee’s movie, “School Daze,” and would like to work on more movie music.

“That’s something I’m keeping in mind,” said Watson, who has also arranged music for Lou Rawls, Joe Williams and Betty Carter. “Hopefully my next recording will lead me in that direction.”

Watson is composing and arranging new material for a large ensemble, in which his sax would play only a small part. His composing skills would be emphasized over his soloing.

“I would also love to make a cameo appearance on some pop stuff, because it’s part of my background,” said Watson, who considers Maceo Parker, Grover Washington and King Curtis as essential influences, along with Cannonball Adderley, John Coltrane and Jackie McLean.

“My first L.P. was funk and jazz, and I couldn’t get work. Funk stations would play funk cuts, jazz stations would play the jazz, and I had to make a choice. I took a gamble and went with jazz, and it’s worked out so far.”

The Jazz Acts Lineup at S.D. Street Scene

FRIDAY NIGHT

6: Roy Hargrove, Hahn Theatre.

7:30: Bobby Watson, Hahn Theatre.

8: Dirty Dozen Brass Band, Stage No. 7.

9: Tito Puente, Salsa Stage No. 2.

9: Roy Hargrove, Hahn Theatre.

10:30: Bobby Watson, Hahn Theatre

11: Dirty Dozen Brass Band, Stage No. 7.

SATURDAY NIGHT

6: Bobby Watson, Hahn Theatre.

7:15: Dirty Dozen Brass Band, Stage No. 7.

7:30: Roy Hargrove, Hahn Theatre.

8:30: Tom Scott, Stage No. 9.

8:45: Dirty Dozen Brass Band, Stage No. 5.

9: Bobby Watson, Hahn Theatre.

10:15: Larry Carlton, Stage No. 9.

10:30: Roy Hargrove, Hahn Theatre.