Musical Mix on Tap at Oakleaf Festival : Popular album musician Charlie Bisharat teams up with vocalist Kenny Rankin in one of the most promising offerings.

No one will accuse the Oakleaf Festival of pushing out into experimental or esoteric areas. The annual festival, taking place this weekend in Thousand Oaks and Westlake, heads straight down the cultural middle in terms of its programming, offering accessible music at affordable prices.

Opening on Friday, the North Wind Quintet promises “audience-friendly” chamber music. Actress/singer Lainie Kazan headlines the Saturday night show, and Sunday in the park brings the agreeable sounds of dixieland and contemporary jazz, from Dwight Kennedy and the New Orleans Dixie Kings and Kilauea, respectively.

One of the more promising acts on the festival roster is violinist Charlie Bisharat, who will bring his band to town in a concert with veteran singer-songwriter Kenny Rankin.

Bisharat is a name familiar to anyone who pays attention to album credits. He’s part of that population of musicians who has long been active on the periphery, working with the heavy hitters of the new age world--Shadowfax, Kitaro, Yanni, and, of late, keyboardist and “Entertainment Tonight” host John Tesh.

With last fall’s release of “Along the Amazon,” his album on Tesch’s GTS label, and more regular gigs under his name, Bisharat is stepping out of the sidelines as a leader.

On the morning of a recent interview, Bisharat was preparing to go into the studio to work on an elaborate Christmas album of Tesch’s involving a 40-piece string section. In August, Tesh is planning to stage a live video/concert performance at the Red Rock outdoor amphitheater in Colorado.

“It’s never a dull moment with him,” Bisharat says of Tesh.

Although he started out studying classical violin as a child, Bisharat was inclined toward following in the footsteps of his father, a doctor. He got a biology degree from USC and was trying to get into medical school.

“By the time I got to college, I was burned out on the violin. I thought ‘I can’t take it anymore.’ Later on, I decided I would try it more from a jazz side, with improv, and do more writing. That’s when I was contacted by Shadowfax.”

Joining the already established Shadowfax in 1985 was a turning point for Bisharat, who immediately jumped from humble local gigs to global touring and a Grammy in 1989. Later, he fell into lucrative studio work.

Making his own album was an inevitable, if delayed, process. After scouting for a record deal, Bisharat wound up recording at Tesch’s own home studio, and for Tesh’s label.

“It was so much of a lower-key situation,” he said. “I could take my time, and no one was breathing down my neck. He let me hire all the guys I thought would be appropriate for the project--John Patitucci, Don Grusin, a couple of guys from the Yellowjackets, Strunz and Farah, one of the guys from Shadowfax.

“To be able to have all those guys come and play with me was like a lifetime dream. I never thought I’d meet these guys, let alone play with them.”

He also used Yes vocalist Jon Anderson on the title track, the one vocal tune.

“I gave him a demo of the tune, and he said, ‘That’s a lovely voice. Who’s that?’ I said, ‘That’s just me, giving you an idea of how the song goes.’ He said, ‘You’ve got to sing it.’ He insisted, so it became a duet. He wouldn’t let me out of it.”

In terms of going plugged or unplugged with his instrument, Bisharat goes both ways, partly out of necessity. “I grew up on acoustic violin, of course. But wanting to play in bands and in clubs, the acoustic is very difficult to amplify, with feedback problems. So I got into the electric about nine years ago.

“It’s a different sound and a different approach. The acoustic is real nice for the jazz and the Stephane Grapelli sound, and the electric is more for the Jean-Luc Ponty sound, a little bit more contemporary.”

Although based out of Woodland Hills, where he lives with his wife, Mary, and daughter Madison, Bisharat has also had connections with Santa Barbara, principally in his ongoing association with Santa Barbara bassist Randy Tico. Tico played on most of Bisharat’s album, and the violinist will appear as part of Tico’s Summer Solstice extravaganza on the Santa Barbara Courthouse lawn, June 18.

You can also hear Bisharat on an album by Strunz and Farah on the specialty, Santa Barbara-based Waterlily Acoustics label. Like most of the Waterlily projects, the album was recorded in a church under unusual conditions.

“They don’t start recording until midnight,” Bisharat recalled. “By the time we finished recording, it was three or four in the morning. It was dark. You can kind of hear it on the album. There’s a mystery to the sound.”

Variety keeps him out of trouble and keeps ennui at bay. “I’ve done a bunch of projects, ranging from jazz to new age to world music and rock ‘n’ roll,” he said. “It’s been an eclectic experience for me, especially on the instrument that I play.

“The violin is usually seen in such a traditional environment, with classical music and all. But I’ve kind of found a niche for myself in these different arenas of playing. It definitely keeps things lively and interesting. Every session is a new experience and a crazy outing.”

Details

* TOMORROW: The North Wind Quintet at 8 p.m. at the Hyatt Westlake Plaza in Westlake Village; Tickets, $10.

* SATURDAY: Lainie Kazan at the Conejo Community Park, Dover and Hendrix, in Thousand Oaks. Tickets, $7/9.

* SUNDAY: Dwight Kennedy and the New Orleans Dixie Kings at Conejo Community Park at 2 and 4:30 p.m., Kilauea, at 3 p.m. in the Conejo Community Park, Kenny Rankin and Charlie Bisharat in the park at 6 p.m. Tickets for all day Sunday, $13/$11, tickets for Bisharat/Rankin, $7/$9; 499-4357.