Jazz Tunes, Local Rooms : Nearly two dozen Valley clubs focus on around-town talent, with a wide variety of entertainment. Names aren’t big, but the sound is.

Through the years, jazz has blossomed at venues scattered all over Southern California. Beginning with the Cotton Club in Culver City in the ‘30s up to the Catalina Bar & Grill in Hollywood today, jazz greats and near-greats have played to packed rooms.

One other clime has, for at least three decades, steadfastly offered listeners a wide variety of jazz entertainment--the San Fernando Valley.

Valley jazz clubs, which occasionally feature top-name traveling artists, have mostly been home to local residents. Take the Baked Potato, opened in 1970 by pianist Don Randi. Saxophonist Tom Scott’s L. A. Express, a top ‘70s band, came together at the Potato, and L. A.-based guitarists Larry Carlton and Lee Ritenour developed themselves as performers there.

This focus on local talent remains the key strength of Valley clubs. The Potato still spotlights area artists, from Randi, an Agoura resident, to guitarist Frank Gambale of Sepulveda. Jax in Glendale showcases local mainstream jazz and jazz-pop musicians such as pianists Cecilia Coleman and Frank Strazzeri and saxophonists Sonya Jason and Jim Marentic. And the Room Upstairs at Le Cafe in Sherman Oaks has long been a supporter of such artists as Brazilian-based guitarist Ricardo Silveira and Latin-jazz keyboardist Clare Fischer.

These days, there are verging on two dozen Valley rooms that feature jazz on an at least once-a-week basis, making the area a main hub of Southern California jazz. And while you won’t see the big names that often, you’ll consistently get a solid sample of some of Southern California’s jazz bedrock--the players who often don’t always get the wide exposure, but who frequently back up or appear alongside the headliners in recording sessions and live shows. These artists, names or not, provide the goods with outstanding musical performances.

The Clubs

Baked Potato, 3787 Cahuenga Blvd. West, Studio City. (818) 980-1615.

This 85-seat room has the honor of being Southern California’s oldest continually operating jazz room. In the ‘70s, pianist Randi spotlighted more straight-ahead jazz. He’s still the regular Friday-Saturday attraction, playing a foot-tapping mix of contemporary and mainstream jazz piano. But since the early ‘80s, the box-shaped room that offers excellent sight lines to the stage from just about anywhere has been given over almost entirely to leaning-toward-loud jazz-fusion bands, with players sporting plenty of electric instruments to get their message across.

Music from 9 p.m. to 1:30 a.m. nightly. Cover varies, two-drink minimum. The menu consists mostly of--oh, you guessed!--a variety of meal-sized baked potatoes stuffed with everything from Cheddar cheese and spinach to steak.

Cafe Sierra, Universal City Hilton and Towers, 555 Universal Terrace Parkway, Universal City. (818) 506-2500.

Perched right in the front of this large, plant-laden room is a baby grand piano, on which various pianists play jazz 5 to 7 p.m. Mondays through Fridays. No cover. Full menu.

Casey’s Tavern, 22029 Sherman Way, Canoga Park. (818) 992-9362.

This windowless joint--discovered when you open a couple of plain metal doors that hide the treasures within--has been the Valley’s primary home to Dixieland jazz for more than a decade. Four nights a week, it’s just a watering hole, with a big Miller Lite sign over the pool table, a long, angled wooden bar and such appointments as a mirrored sign for Paddy Irish whiskey hanging over drawings of pianist Willie (The Lion) Smith and soprano saxophonist Sidney Bechet.

But on Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays, owner Lee Casey’s crew pushes some back-of-the-room tables out of the way and in come the bands, with such names as the Jelly Roll Jazz Band, the Tin Pan Valley jazz band and the Great Pacific Jazz Band.

The clientele, according to bartender Bob Stoll, is animated, though not exactly youthful. “The average age of a Casey’s customer is deceased,” he cracked, “and that includes the bartenders.” Even if there’s no band, Casey’s boasts a great jukebox, packed with such goodies as Erroll Garner’s “Misty,” Kid Ory’s “St. Louis Blues” and Ella Fitzgerald’s first hit, the 1938 “A-Tisket, A-Tasket.”

Music 9 p.m. to 1 a.m. Saturdays, 6 to 9 p.m. Sundays, and 8:30 to 11:30 p.m. Thursdays. No cover, two-drink minimum. Peanut snacks only.

Cha Cha Cha, 17499 Ventura Blvd., Encino. (818) 789-3600.

This restaurant, with its barnlike spaciousness, looks stunning. The pale wood walls are adorned with paintings that have a magical, childlike motif, and an ancient map of the Caribbean is painted on the polished cement floor. Mostly instrumental Latin and Brazilian jazz and reggae are offered, with regulars bassist Marco Mendoza and keyboardist Ottomaro Ruiz.

Music 9:15 p.m. to 12:30 a.m. Fridays and Saturdays. No cover or minimum. Caribbean cuisine.

Chadney’s, 3000 W. Olive Ave., Burbank. (818) 843-5333.

The homey, 70-seat bar and lounge has been providing first-rate jazz for years. In the ‘70s, the establishment was called the Carriage House and hosted the vibrant duo of pianist Jimmy Rowles and bassist Monty Budwig. Now, as Chadney’s, the room’s jazz cache has grown under a booking policy implemented by Dennis Duke, who for years handled those duties at the nearby Money Tree.

Tuesdays through Saturdays, you’ll find such artists as drummer Earl Palmer--recently inducted into the R&B; Hall of Fame for his work on New Orleans-based recording sessions with Fats Domino and others in the ‘50s--trumpeters Bill Berry and Jack Sheldon, saxophonist John Bolivar and singer Dennis Rowland.

Music 9 p.m. to 1 a.m. Tuesday through Thursday, 9:30 p.m. to 1:30 a.m. Friday and Saturday. No cover or minimum. Full menu.

Cobalt Cafe, 22047 Sherman Way, Canoga Park. (818) 348-3789.

Jazz nights are Sundays and Thursdays at this coffeehouse. Bob Harsen, Mike Dubin and Brad Rabuchin are the regulars. Bands start at 9 p.m. No cover, one-drink minimum. Light fare, including vegetarian sandwiches and salads.

Common Grounds, 9250 Reseda Blvd., Northridge. (818) 882-3666.

The comfy 50-seat coffeehouse spotlights jazz on Mondays. Regulars are guitarist Rick Zunigar, Rob Van Jazz and the Weller Brothers.

Music from 9 p.m. to midnight. No cover, $2.50 minimum. Full menu.

Duet, 900 N. Central Ave., Glendale. (818) 240-0808.

This 250-seat restaurant serves more than modern California cuisine in its crisp environs. On Tuesdays, Duet features pianist Sydney Lehman, reed man Steve Carr and their guests, offering a selection of originals and jazz standards in the upstairs lounge.

Music 7 to 10 p.m. Tuesdays. No cover, no minimum. Full menu.

Jack’s Cinnamon Cinder, 4311 W. Magnolia Blvd., Burbank. (818) 845-1121.

This good-sized joint--it holds well more than 200 folks--features country music every night--and the decor shows it with its Western-style landscape. But around lunchtime each Tuesday and Thursday, a bunch from the nearby studios--Kay Wade and Don Nelson among them--plays Dixieland jazz. And on Sundays, except during football season, big bands led by the likes of Jimmy McConnell and Ladd McIntosh hold forth.

Jazz from noon to 1 p.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays, 2 to 7 p.m. Sundays. No cover, no minimum. Full menu.

Jax, 339 N. Brand Blvd., Glendale. (818) 500-1604.

The room is skinny and long--for just a second you might think you’d walked into that most hallowed of jazz bars: Bradley’s in Manhattan. But then you look around, see the stained-glass windows over the bar, the trombones and clarinets tacked to the walls, the poster above one booth that hisses, “Hot Jazz.” Obviously, Jax is not just a serious, subdued jazz room. People come here mostly to eat, talk, flirt and so on, and they get music tossed in in the bargain.

And a lot of good music emanates from the bandstand tucked into a niche at the end of the bar, though the sounds are sometimes hard to hear over the he-said-she-said clamor. The artists range from the new and exuberant--Sonya Jason, Soma Quartet, Mindi Abair--to the veteran and respected--Mike Campbell, Frank Strazzeri, Bill Perkins.

Music from 9 p.m. to 1:30 a.m. Fridays and Saturdays, 7:30 to 11:30 p.m. Sundays, and 9 p.m. to 1 a.m. Mondays through Thursdays. No cover or minimum. Full menu.

J.P.’s Lounge, 3718 W. Magnolia Blvd., Burbank. (818) 845-1800.

This no-frills establishment is a neighborhood joint with a warm feel that features quality mainstream jazz and pop music. Guest musicians, egged on by down-home keyboardist Karen Hernandez and drummer Frank Wilson, carry on Thursdays through Saturdays in the anything-but-elaborate lounge room--which has brick walls, mirrors surrounded by strands of little clear flickering lights and glass-topped tables.

Recently, Maurice Davis knocked out “It’s All Right With Me” and “St. Louis Blues,” and when Hernandez soloed, she made her keyboard sound like an organ. All right!

Singer Margaret Love, 9 p.m. to 12:30 a.m. Wednesdays; Hernandez and Wilson 9 p.m. to 1:30 a.m. Thursdays through Saturdays. No cover, one-drink minimum. Full menu.

J.P.’s Money Tree, 10149 Riverside Drive, North Hollywood. (818) 769-8800.

With its green Naugahyde booths, here-and-there reading lamps, fresh flowers on the tables and photographs of Louis Armstrong, Al Hirt and Charlie Parker, the Money Tree is the rich cousin of J.P.’s Lounge. The 100-seat room has been around for a couple of decades, and these days, the standard of the music is pretty high.

Thursdays through Saturdays, pianist Page Cavanaugh’s trio (with guitarist Al Viola and bassist Phil Mallory) spiritedly deliver tunes you may never have heard of unless you were born in the ‘30s and ‘40s. But ditties like “Shootin’ High” and “M’amselle” are fun, especially when Cavanaugh sings them in his scratchy tenor. The solos by the pianist and Viola--a fine guitarist--add to the party.

Sundays, Jack Sheldon does it all--plays trumpet, sings, employs considerable wit--and brings along pianist Ross Tompkins to boot. Mondays through Wednesdays belong to Karen Hernandez and Frank Wilson, and their followers.

Music seven nights, 9 p.m. to 1:30 a.m. No cover or minimum. Continental cuisine.

Las Hadas Cantina, 9048 Balboa Blvd., Northridge. (818) 892-7271.

This open, tiled-floor Mexican restaurant, in the corner of a shopping center, on Wednesdays offers Joe Vento’s ragged-but-occasionally-right Big Band All-Stars, with singer Susan Morse.

Music from 7:30 to 11 p.m. No cover or minimum. Full Mexican menu.

La Ve Lee, 12514 Ventura Blvd., Studio City. (818) 980-8158.

This low-ceilinged, low-lighted user-friendly spot, where music has been on tap for about seven years, used to focus on Brazilian jazz. Nowadays, owner Eddie Arbi really mixes it up, offering a smattering of R&B;, jazz, blues and funk, as well as Latin and, yes, Brazilian jazz. The policy that Arbi and the room’s booker, Olivier Vabois, employ obviously works, as the 100-seat room is regularly packed. There’s a core crew of performers, among them singer Eliane Estevao, conga drummer Poncho Sanchez and R&B; men Marco Mendoza and Bruce Conte, and such names as Armand Sabal-Lecco and Scott Henderson spice up the roster. The bands play pretty loud sometimes, but the people at the front tables don’t seem to notice.

Music shows at 9:30 and 11:30 p.m. Tuesdays through Sundays. Cover $5 to $10, two-drink minimum. Mediterranean cuisine.

Lobby Bar, in the Warner Center Marriott, 21850 Oxnard St., Woodland Hills. (818) 887-4800.

Lounge on the comfy chairs and couches, surround yourself with lush greenery and enjoy the solid piano-bass-drums jazz trio called Smooth Tips.

Music 8 p.m. to midnight Fridays and Saturdays. No cover or minimum. Appetizers.

Mitch’s Java ‘N’ Jazz, 22722 Lyons Ave., No. 1, Valencia. (805) 254-7500.

Mitch McMullen opened this coffeehouse about a year ago, and is proud of its European atmosphere, down to the wooden walls and floors painted to look old. Jazz competes with folk, pop, reggae and gospel groups for space, with anything from Latin to fusion to mainstream on tap about three nights a week.

Regulars include young trumpet whiz Gilbert Castellanos, who plays with Black/Note, and pianist Johnny (Hammond) Smith. There’s room for about 100 patrons.

Music from about 7 p.m. to 1 a.m. seven nights. Cover $1 Thursdays through Saturdays; no cover other nights. One-drink minimum. Soups, sandwiches and desserts available, along with the typical cups of joe.

Moonlight Tango Cafe, 13730 Ventura Blvd., Sherman Oaks. (818) 788-2000.

The airy, bright room that features singing waitresses and waiters and a natty dance band on weekends goes for big bands on Tuesdays. The town’s best large ensembles have played here, including bands led by Bill Holman, Frank Capp, Bob Florence and Ray Anthony.

Big band shows at 8 and 10 p.m. Tuesdays. Cover varies from $10 to $15, two-drink minimum. Continental cuisine.

Monteleone’s West, 19937 Ventura Blvd., Tarzana. (818) 996-0662.

Walk into Monteleone’s and you immediately feel the glow of the understated lighting, appreciate how the brass and wood appointments give the establishment a sense of quiet elegance. The cozy room--the dining room-bar area seats about 75--has a comfortable ambience, which may be why owner Tom Monteleone has been a successful Valley restaurant and club owner for 23 years, with 13 at this location.

“This isn’t a jazz club. It’s really a supper club for people who want entertainment while they eat,” says Monteleone. The musicians and singers who work here aren’t always strictly jazz, but they all offer some classic pop material from the ‘40s and ‘50s.

Music 7 to 11:30 p.m. Sunday through Thursday, 9 p.m. to 1:30 a.m. Friday and Saturday. No cover, $15 minimum Friday and Saturday, no cover or minimum other days. Continental cuisine.

Muddy Moose Bar & Grill at the Sportsmen’s Lodge, 12833 Ventura Blvd., Studio City. (818) 984-0202.

This room with contrasting decor--a Southwestern motif in one room, everything from toboggans to metal divers’ helmets on an upper shelf in another--hosts various contemporary jazz groups.

Music from 8:30 to midnight Fridays and Saturdays. No cover or minimum. Full menu.

Red Vest Pizza Parlor, 12639 Glenoaks Blvd., Sylmar. (818) 362-1536.

This pizza house, decked out with the usual beer signs and three big-screen TVs, features Dixieland with the Jazzin’ Babies Jazz Band each Wednesday from 7:30 to 10 p.m. No cover, $5 minimum.

The Room Upstairs at Le Cafe, 14633 Ventura Blvd,, Sherman Oaks. (818) 986-2662.

The Room Upstairs began 13 years ago as a place to sing for Lois Boileau, one of the owners of this restaurant-nightclub. As the music policy expanded from weekends to seven nights a week, the artists booked changed as well. For some time, the accent was on jazz-fusion bands. These groups played far too loudly in the tiny, 60-seat enclave that makes you feel as if the musicians are playing in your front room.

For the past couple of years, owner-booker Dale Jaffe has selected acts that better suit his space, from such singers as Sue Raney, Shelby Flint and Mare Winingham to Brazilian artists Ricardo Silveira and Bill Cantos.

Jaffe still goes for jazz people who play with energy--saxman Evertte Harp, bassist Bunny Brunel--and occasionally does it up big, booking an out-of-town surprise, such as the Brazilian vocal quartet Bova Livre. The variety, and ambience, have made the Room Upstairs one of the most important Los Angeles-area jazz haunts.

Music at 9 and 11 p.m. Friday and Saturday, 8 and 10 p.m. Sundays through Thursdays. Cover varies between $2 and $15, two-drink minimum. No food, full menu available downstairs in Le Cafe.

Shakey’s Pizza, 26781 Bouquet Canyon Road, Saugus. (805) 296-8566.

Here’s another pizza place that, besides the pies, the video games in the game room and the sports on two 27-inch overhead TVs, features jazz each week with the Good Time Band.

Music 7:30 to 10:30 p.m. Fridays only. No cover, no minimum. Full menu.

Skoby’s, 20419 Devonshire St., Chatsworth. (818) 718-0433.

Skoby’s mainly functions as a restaurant, but there’s a small bar and lounge on the western side where pianist Michelle Farber’s trio is a Saturday mainstay.

Jazz 8 p.m. to 12:30 a.m. Saturdays, no cover, two-drink minimum. Full menu.