Lounging in the New Year : A number of Valley clubs are offering a musical welcome--in a variety of styles--to 1993.

By ZAN STEWART

Dec. 25, 1992 12 AM PT

SPECIAL TO THE TIMES

Multi-reed man John Bolivar has worked most New Year’s Eves since he became a professional musician more than 25 years ago. And he’s playing again Thursday at Chadney’s in Burbank, with longtime colleague Billy Mitchell.

A couple of years ago, however, Bolivar, whose No. 1 instrument is the flute, took the night off Dec. 31. “We just got a limousine and went from club to club, laughing at all the other musicians who were working,” he recalled.

New Year’s Eve is a special holiday; “it’s more than just an event. I feel happy just being alive to celebrate another new year and to play that old tune,” he said with a laugh, referring to “Auld Lang Syne.”

Theirs is just one of several New Year’s Eve engagements in the San Fernando Valley area that either had not sold out at press time or is available that evening for dropping in. (But calling for a reservation is recommended, nevertheless.)

Pianist Mitchell, who has known Bolivar since they were both living in Atlanta in the late 1970s, grew up spending New Year’s Eve not in nightspots, but in church. “I was raised in a church family, and I was taught that was the best place to be that night,” he said. “But I don’t do that now because my profession doesn’t allow it.”

The pair, who were on hand at Chadney’s last New Year’s Eve, will offer a mix of Latin, jazz and R & B-flavored tunes in the lounge. “That’s what you have to play in this town or you don’t work,” Bolivar said. “If you’re strictly a straight-ahead jazz player, there are only so many places to work, and you can’t make a living.”

They had several calls to work more prestigious, and perhaps better-paying, events this year, Mitchell said, but chose Chadney’s again because it’s friendly and informal. “The club is like the old days, with people coming together and sharing,” he said. “Musicians almost always sit in. It’s really a great environment, and I wish there were more rooms like it.”

Another instrumentalist on tap Thursday is contemporary saxophonist Sonja Jason, who entertains at Jax in Glendale, where the room’s no-cover, no-minimum policy will be in force. There are also a number of singers ringing in the new year, among them Sue Raney, at Le Cafe in Sherman Oaks, and Thelma Jones, at Monteleone’s in Tarzana.

Raney will offer her usual array of great pop standards and Jones, who some may remember from her eponymic Columbia Records album “Thelma Jones” from the late ‘70s, will work in more of an R & B vein. Two of her hits in that genre were “Never Leave Me” and “The House That Jack Built,” both recorded for Hi Records in the late ‘60s. Thursday, such tunes as “Midnight Train to Georgia,” “Drown in My Own Tears” and “Shake-a-Hand” make up Jones’ repertoire, and she said she’ll take requests.

The last night of the year has always been one of her favorites, the singer said. “It’s festive, a new beginning that’s full of hope, and I like to be a part of that with other people,” she said. “A lot of friends tell me they’d rather stay at home; they worry about how people drive, and so on. But for me, that’s never been a problem.”

Jones, who lives in Westlake, was born in Fayetteville, N. C., and spent several years in New York City. She got her start in that city after sitting in at a lounge in a bowling alley that was, ironically, a hangout for many major black artists. Innovative blues artist T-Bone Walker heard Jones there and recommended that she appear in one of the amateur shows at the Apollo Theatre in Harlem, where such greats as Sarah Vaughan and Stevie Wonder also launched their careers.

“The crowd was rough,” Jones recalled. “I stood backstage and watched them boo off one person after another. But when I sang, they screamed and shouted because they loved me. Still, I was so nervous, I ran off in the middle of my number.”

Although she doesn’t consider herself a jazz singer, Jones cited Vaughan, Ella Fitzgerald and Carmen McRae among her chief influences and said she likes to work with a jazz trio. At Monteleone’s, she’s backed by pianist Clarence MacDonald’s threesome. “I’m sure we’ll have a great time,” she said.

Where and When

* Who: John Bolivar and Billy Mitchell.

* Where: Chadney’s, 3000 W. Olive St., Burbank.

* Hours: 9:30 p.m. to 1:30 a.m. New Year’s Eve.

* Price: $10 cover; special dinner menu available.

* Call: (818) 843-5333.

* Who: Sonja Jason.

* Where: Jax, 339 N. Brand Blvd., Glendale.

* Hours: 9 p.m. to 1:30 a.m.

* Price: No cover, no minimum. Reservations recommended.

* Call: (818) 500-1604.

* Who: Thelma Jones.