Jazz Is Closest to His Heart : * Bob Sheppard and his modern-minded quartet will play originals and ‘experiment’ with sounds at Common Grounds in Northridge.

It was a typical week for reed man Bob Sheppard.

He arrived in Los Angeles March 24 on a red-eye flight from Maui, where he was performing on Steely Dan’s Walter Becker’s newest album, due out on Giant Records this summer. Then that night, he drove from his North Hollywood home to the Club Brasserie in West Hollywood, playing substantial straight-ahead jazz in a quartet led by bassist Dave Carpenter. On Saturday, he was down in Orange County, sight-reading arrangements behind the vocal group Beachfront Property. And starting Monday, he was recording an album of tunes by guitarist Pat Metheny, arranged by bandleader Bob Curnow.

Sheppard, who is just as skilled at reading complex scores at first sight as he is at knocking out a turn-your-head jazz solo, is one of Southern California’s most in-demand musicians. In an era when many players are witnessing very slow times, Sheppard works as much as six days a week, appearing with anyone from Sheena Easton and Steely Dan to keyboardists Lyle Mays, Billy Childs and Bill Cunliffe, as well as his own band. “It’s fun. What a blessing it is to play music for a living!” he says with enthusiasm.

Most of the time, Sheppard works for others. For instance, he’ll tour Japan with Steely Dan--led by Becker and Donald Fagen--later this month. He sometimes plays woodwinds on a movie or TV soundtrack: Recent jobs have included “Naked Gun 33 1/3” and the upcoming “Quiz Show” and “Major League II.”

“I like the challenge,” he says of soundtrack work. “I like to put on different hats every day. The mix of studio work keeps me at the top of my craft.”

Sheppard says that jazz is closest to his heart, though--if there were sufficient gigs, he’d play it nonstop. He leads a quartet Monday at Common Grounds in Northridge, and Wednesday at the Club Brasserie.

“I don’t know anyone in L. A. who can make a living playing jazz,” he says. “Still, I love any opportunity there is to play. I’ll even take a freebie, even though it goes against my basic philosophy that you should be compensated. In Los Angeles, though, playing out is more of a showcase for music and your band.”

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At Common Grounds, Sheppard will bring along drummer David Hocker, bassist Jeff DeAngelo and guitarist Larry Koonse. He says the modern-minded band will play originals and jazz standards and “experiment.”

“I like to play interactively,” he begins. “With the right guys, it’s interesting; things happen; it’s never the same. The whole intent of jazz is to be open. With that in mind, this music’s always a surprise. Still, what we play is traditional jazz. Though there are free elements, it’s very structured. It’s almost the same as Dixieland jazz, except that the jazz language is much more advanced.”

He specializes in tenor sax. Sheppard coaxes a round, bold tone from his instrument, and his improvised lines are alternately angular and leaping, and curving and seamless. Influenced first by John Coltrane, and later, by Michael Brecker and Jerry Bergonzi, Sheppard has for years sought his own voice. “If I listen to any of their records, I try to sound like them,” he says, “so I listen to other music, like classical, to try and make my playing different.”

Sheppard has garnered plenty of respect from his cohorts. “He can play, “ says jazz trumpeter Freddie Hubbard, using the word jazz musicians employ for being a telling improviser. Sheppard performed with Hubbard from the early ‘80s through 1992. Sheppard says playing with the trumpeter was “one of the best lessons ever.”

“Freddie wants you to play your best, not hold back,” he says. “He knows how to shape a solo, grab you by the shirt and pull you along.”

Sheppard, a native of Trenton, N. J., who has a master’s degree from the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, N. Y., came to Los Angeles in the early ‘80s, and soon his reputation was established. He says that though he’s happy to make such a good living with his instruments, there are pitfalls. “When you’re working all the time, it doesn’t leave much room for creative activities, like working on your music and practicing,” he says. “You forget your original intent in playing music, and it’s really a fight to keep your creative juices flowing.”

WHERE AND WHEN

What: Bob Sheppard’s quartet at Common Grounds, 9250 Reseda Blvd., Northridge.

Hours: 9 p.m. to midnight Monday.

Price: No cover, $2.50 minimum.

Call: (818) 882-3666.