Solid Lineup Set for Bakery Fund-Raiser

Want to work hard and not make much money? Just open a jazz club, says singer Ruth Price.

Price has been president and artistic director of the nonprofit Jazz Bakery in Culver City for just over a year.

“I thought when the Bakery started that it would be found money, something I did in my spare time, but it’s turned out to be a seven-days-a-week job,” said Price of the establishment that she operates with photographer Jim Britt. The space serves as Britt’s photo studio during regular business hours.

Running the Bakery has proved expensive, and to alleviate some financial pressures, the room is holding its first fund-raiser on Sunday.

“For about two months after the riots, people apparently didn’t feel comfortable coming here, and we suffered,” said Price, who receives a small salary through the Bakery’s nonprofit charter. “We had no cushion, and we’ve got to build a cushion or we won’t remain open.”

The fund-raiser, which runs from 5 p.m. until 10:30 p.m., features the Clayton-Hamilton big band, singer-pianist Bob Dorough, pianists Roger Kellaway and Mike Melvoin and singer Oscar Brown Jr. There will also be an auction, which includes several photographs by William Claxton, Ray Avery and Britt, and a private performance by Price herself.

The Jazz Bakery fund-raiser costs $60; contributions are tax deductible.

Information: (310) 271-9039.

San Francisco Festival: With a lineup that spotlights drummer Elvin Jones, pianist Tommy Flanagan, singer Tony Bennett, saxophonist Joe Henderson and spoken-word artist Ken Nordine, the 10th annual San Francisco jazz festival is under way. The bash is held in various venues throughout the city, and runs through Nov. 8.

Information: (415) 864-5449.

In the Bins: Dizzy Gillespie turned 75 on Wednesday--and to honor the trumpet giant, PolyGram records has released “Dizzy’s Diamonds: The Best of the Verve Years.” This three-CD set, culled from material recorded between 1954 and 1964, is divided into big band, small group and Afro-Cuban, bossa nova and other styles, and features a host of jazz giants. Among the artists included are Duke Ellington, Sonny Rollins, Charlie Parker, Ella Fitzgerald, Roy Eldridge and Stan Getz.

There’s an appealing variety within each of the divisions and Gillespie, playing with his trademark stunning sound, inventive melodic bent and facile technique, shines throughout. The set includes renditions of such renowned Gillespie compositions as “Con Alma,” “Manteca,” “A Night in Tunisia” and “Dizzy Atmosphere.”