T.S. Monk, a Musical Missionary

“I’m on a mission, man,” exclaims drummer T.S. Monk, son of the late Thelonious Monk, the legendary pianist and composer who wrote such classics as “ ‘Round Midnight” and “I Mean You.”

Monk, 43, whose superb sextet begins a three-night stand at Catalina Bar & Grill tonight, wants to give straight-ahead, post-bop jazz its proper place in the music pantheon. He points out that the style--which was in vogue from the mid-’50s to the mid-’60s and is having something of a revival today--is already a big money maker, if you count the reissue market.

“Straight-ahead reissues are the heart and soul of recorded jazz revenues,” says Monk, whose debut straight-ahead release, the first-class “Take One,” came out on Blue Note Records last year. “My question is, if you can sell a dead jazz musician, can you sell a live one?”

Monk, who is this week’s Critic’s Choice, says his tack is to take material from the ‘50s and ‘60s--some known, some obscure--as well as more current tunes written with that era’s flavor and present it all with a ‘90s attitude.

The drummer, whose band features saxophonists Bobby Porcelli and Willie Williams, trumpeter Don Sickler, pianist Ronnie Mathews and bassist Scott Colley, plays such numbers as Kenny Dorham’s “Minor’s Holiday” and “Una Mas,” Tommy Turrentine’s “Shoutin’,” J.J. Johnson’s “Kelo,” James Williams’ “The Changing of the Guard,” Donald Brown’s “New York” and his father’s “Skippy,” “Think of One” and “Monk’s Dream.”

This music has an across-the-board appeal, says Monk, and is ideal for drawing new listeners to jazz. “I’m after those people who are sitting on the fence, who may not know anything about jazz,” he says. “They might hear my band and decide they like what we play. That’s the way to expand the jazz audience.”

Monk, who first played professionally with his father in 1970, then later embarked on a career in R&B; and jazz/fusion before returning to pure jazz, said he’s taking his current position as a straight-ahead bandleader very seriously. “I know that any band I lead is going to draw a lot of attention to me, and I want to play this music right,” he says. “Maybe I don’t compose music like my dad, but I play hard. I make sure the music swings like hell. You’ll hear no b.s. from me. My father’s name is too precious for me to do that. I’m stuck with that responsibility.”

The drummer’s next album, “The Changing of the Guard,” is due out in April. Instead of recording it at a jazz studio, he recorded it at NYC’s PowerStation, and then mixed it at Electric Ladyland, two facilities known for their pop productions. He says that too many jazz albums have a flat, unimpressive sound. The same goes for live shows.

“We should have lighting, and an outrageous sound system, like the Grateful Dead does,” he says. “Bring the sound of CTI Records, which were the best-sounding jazz records ever, onto the bandstand. We need to make jazz more commercial, which doesn’t mean change the music--just make it more salable.”

JAZZ BY THE SEA: When vibist Charlie Shoemake moved to Cambria on the Central California coast a few years ago, he found he could leave Los Angeles behind but not its top-drawer musicians. A year and a half ago, Shoemake began to bring Southland players to his climes, playing with them at once-a-month concerts at the Hamlet at Moonstone Gardens, a restaurant/bar on Highway 1 that overlooks the Pacific.

“My wife, Sandi, and I moved here for the beauty, and felt that, since there were many residents here from L.A., San Francisco and even New York, there would be an audience for sophisticated music,” he says.

Shoemake was right. Since November, 1991, scores of fans have packed the Hamlet’s bar, hearing such favorites as Conte Candoli, Bob Cooper, Pete Christlieb, Teddy Edwards and Ron Eschete.

This month’s calendar includes two performances. Charles McPherson, one of the finest be-bop-based alto saxophonists, appears Sunday, 4 to 6 p.m. On March 28, the great Danish bassist Niels-Henning Orsted Pedersen stops by. Information: (805) 927-3535. Orsted Pedersen will be playing in Los Angeles on April 3 at the Jazz Bakery in Culver City.

SHORT STOP: Pianist-singer Bobby Short, making his first Los Angeles appearance in three years, travels in from Manhattan to play a benefit Wednesday at the Wilshire Ebell Theatre. All proceeds go to AIDS Project Los Angeles. Information: (213) 939-1128.

IN THE RACKS: “Nancy Wilson & Cannonball Adderley” (Capitol) brings back an ace 1961 recording that found Wilson in ideal company, working with the late saxophonist’s band and scoring with scintillating versions of “Never Will I Marry,” “A Sleepin’ Bee” and others. Adderley’s band gets to blow, too. . . .

On “Love Every Moment” (Concord Jazz), invigorating, inventive pianist Walter Norris, an L.A. resident in the late ‘50s, employs bassist Putter Smith and drummer Larance Marable to take refreshing looks at nine titles, among them Steve Huffsteter’s “Miles,” Lester Young’s “Blue Lester” and his own “Moonglazed.”