Thar They Blow : Nuclear Whales Sax Group Brings Its Expansive Repertoire to Costa Mesa

Don Stevens, leader of the six-member Nuclear Whales Saxophone Orchestra, says his ensemble is attracting quite a bit of attention lately.

“There’s seems to be a new saxophone awareness with the presidential election,” he said in a phone conversation earlier this week from his home in Santa Cruz.

“It could mean a lot more gigs for the saxophone orchestra.” Then, after a pause, he concludes, “Actually, it has meant a lot more gigs.”

If anyone stands to benefit from the election of Bill Clinton, it’s the Nuclear Whales, a quirky, sometimes irreverent ensemble that utilizes the entire range of the horn family, from the diminutive sopranino to the giant contrabass sax.

The group’s repertoire is also expansive. Its performances--including one tonight at Orange Coast College in Costa Mesa--typically incorporate jazz standards, new music, folk tunes and originals as well as classical pieces dating back to the Elizabethan period.

Stevens says the turning point for the 10-year-old orchestra came well before the election: In 1989, an audience member approached them after a concert and offered to sell a contrabass saxophone, the 6-foot-8 behemoth that plays notes low enough to set off Cal Tech seismographs.

“We weren’t really looking for a contrabass, but realized we’d probably never have another opportunity to buy one. It’s a great instrument, from the turn of the century, and really adds a lot to the sound. And in terms of publicity, it’s the best investment you could ever make.”

Because of its size, the instrument does draw a lot of attention.

That’s what happened on Nov. 1 when the Whales traveled to Meadowlands, N.J., to entertain the then-governor of Arkansas in a pre-election program that included Wynton Marsalis’ band and Michael Bolton.

“When Clinton saw it, his eyes opened wide and he immediately started looking it over, trying to figure out where to put his hands and how to hold it. We got a couple of great photos of him trying to play it. He got some sound out of it, not the true sound, but he did pretty well. Even the pros I’ve let try couldn’t play it.”

Stevens also took the opportunity to slip copies of the Whales’ four CDs to Hillary and the Gore children. He’s still expecting to hear from Tipper after the young Gores play “Humpback Boogie,” with its “hump-hump” vocal chorus.

“It’s a great tune that uses the contrabass and sort of expresses the Nuclear Whales’ philosophy. But I don’t know what Tipper will think,” Stevens says.

The Whales’ philosophy is an open-minded one. They’re willing to embrace any type of music while not limiting their sound strictly to saxophones. Bass and drums were added to their recording of traditional jazz, “Whalin’ ” and tablas player Ashwin Batish has also recorded with the group.

“Because we’re a sax orchestra, which is unusual to start with, we try to do anything we can think of, all kinds of music,” Stevens says. “The background of our members is very diverse, everyone has a different story.

“I’ve listened to all kinds of music from all over the worlds: classical, folk, African, Indonesian, Indian, also a lot of American music, especially classic jazz from the ‘20s and ‘30s. (Baritone sax player) Ann (Stamm Merrell) has studied at the Eastman School of Music and has done all kinds of arrangements for big bands. (Sopranino, soprano and alto player) Roxtar has had a lot of classical training.”

The Whales’ latest recording, “Gone Fission,” runs the gamut. It opens with Merrell’s medley arrangement of Duke Ellington’s “It Don’t Mean a Thing” and Louis Prima’s “Sing, Sing, Sing” and closes with a rousing edition of Sousa’s “Stars and Stripes Forever.”

In between are Percy Grainger’s “The Immovable Do,” two fantasies from 17th-Century composers, Billy Strayhorn’s “Lush Life” and Roxtar’s “The Reel Jig,” which features the composer playing bombarde, an unwieldy instrument related to the bagpipes.

All four of the Whales’ recordings were released on the group’s own label, Whaleco Music.

“At first, I looked around for companies to put out our records,” Stevens said, “but nobody was interested in a saxophone orchestra. So we started doing it ourselves.”

Steven promises that the Whales will delve into a number of styles during their OCC concert.

“Generally, our programs are subject to last-minute changes,” he said with a laugh. “But we’ll do the (John Jenkins) Fantasy in D, No. 1, we’ll do some Ellington, ‘Summertime,’ ‘Tiger Rag,’ ‘Bugler’s Holiday’ with three soprano saxes. We’ll do some Bach or Mozart and a folk song like ‘Danny Boy.’ There’ll be a lot of territory covered.”

And, yes, they’ll be bring the contrabass sax. Like a Gargantuan American Express card, Stevens said, “we never travel without it.”

The Nuclear Whales Saxophone Orchestra plays tonight at 7 and 9 at Orange Coast College’s Fine Arts Recital Hall, 2701 Fairview Road, Costa Mesa. $12. (714) 432-5880.