O.C. JAZZ / BILL KOHLHAASE : Concerted Efforts

Concerts ruled the local scene in 1993, led by KLON-FM and the Hyatt Newporter’s Jazz Live at the Hyatt series.

But while the concert scene slowly expands, the club scene is headed in the other direction with the loss of the entertainment policies at Maxwell’s restaurant in Huntington Beach and, more recently, Vinnie’s in Laguna Hills and Costa Mesa.

Big shows are nice, but jazz goes best in small rooms, where intimacy makes the performances a personal experience. There’s a lesson to be learned from all this: Support the remaining clubs or lose them, too.

Best Concerts of 1993:

1. Joe Henderson (Orange County Register Jazz Festival, UC Irvine, Oct. 17). Few showed up to hear the heavyweight champ of the saxophone and his crack ensemble with pianist Renee Rosnes and drummer Al Foster. But those who did were well-rewarded with Henderson’s trademark expression and enough of the saxophonist’s trademark cries, calls and caterwauls to satiate his fans.

2. Shirley Horn (Orange County Performing Arts Center, Costa Mesa, Feb. 2). Horn is probably the only singer-pianist who could transform the 3,000-seat Segerstrom Hall into an intimate room where her delicate vocals and perfectly placed accompaniment could touch one’s very soul.

3. Lee Konitz (Jazz Live at the Hyatt, Newport Beach, Aug. 20). Improvisational excursions from alto man Konitz in a tribute to his longtime associate, Lennie Tristano. Exchanges with fellow saxophonist Gary Foster made for particularly stirring moments.

4. Toshiko Akiyoshi Jazz Orchestra, Steve Turre (Orange County Performing Arts Center, Nov. 13). Composer Akiyoshi’s orchestrations, almost symphonic in nature, and her grand sense of what music can say combined with the sax and flute work of Lew Tabackin, made for both intellectual and emotional rewards. Turre’s conch shell and trombone choir provided earthy contrasts.

5. Art Farmer Plays the Music of Gil Evans (Jazz Live at the Hyatt, July 30). Though fluegelhornist Farmer wasn’t at his best and the orchestra, gamely led by conductor Mark Masters, struggled at times with Evans’ harmonic blends, the program was a haunting re-creation of the famous Evans-Miles Davis sessions.

6. Charlie Haden Quartet West (Jazz Live at the Hyatt, June 6). Bassist Haden’s film noir approach to jazz made for a night of romance and intrigue. Saxophonist Bennie Maupin filled in for saxophonist Ernie Watts, bringing an extra measure of cool and dignity to the proceedings.

7. Buddy Collette, Fred Katz (Jazz Live at the Hyatt, June 4). This reunion of two of the original members of Chico Hamilton’s quintet matched Collette’s gentlemanly sax and flute sounds with Katz and his mischievous cello lines. A fine display of tonal as well as improvisational sounds.

8. George Van Eps (Vinnie’s, Laguna Hills, July 9). The man who practically invented the seven-string guitar, now well into his eighth decade, pulled orchestrally rich statements from his instrument while never forgetting to swing. Van Eps is a living treasure.

9. Ron Stout (Cafe Lido, Newport Beach, Aug. 31). Trumpeter Stout’s pair of sets was exactly what nightclub jazz is all about: hot-and-bothered here, touchingly tender there. An evening full of spontaneity and musicianship.

10. Joshua Redman (Coach House, San Juan Capistrano, Oct. 28). Superstar as humble sideman was the evening’s theme when guitarist Pat Metheny joined the 20-something saxophonist for a hard-bop-inspired outing. Ego was forgotten as the two mixed and matched their considerable styles.

* Next week in Calendar: a series of looks at the year ahead.