Hitting a Festive Note : Jazz musicians will play old hits and contemporary favorites in New Year’s Eve shows at several Valley locations.

New Year’s Eve and music--they go hand in hand. For jazz fans, there’s a variety of entertainment on tap at San Fernando Valley establishments for this year-end celebration.

Drummer Frank Capp is one of these artists. Long known for his playing with his Juggernaut big band, Capp has been an esteemed small group player since the 1950s and enjoys fronting a quartet. “In a small band, there’s more freedom than in a big band, where your playing is dictated by the arrangements,” he says.

This New Year’s Eve, Capp will lead a foursome at Legends of Hollywood in Studio City that features renowned tenor saxophonist Pete Christlieb, pianist Jon Mayer and bassist Richard Reid. The tenor man, who also plays in the Juggernaut, is a personal favorite of the drummer.

“He plays with a lot of fire and excitement. He has a lot of technique on the instrument, he has a real solid sound and a great concept for jazz. He has his own identity. You can pick him out of a crowd of tenor players,” Capp says.

“What I intend to do Saturday is entertain the people with what they came expecting to hear, which is straight-ahead jazz. Otherwise, they wouldn’t be coming there. We’re not playing for dancing, since it’s a not a dance gig,” he says.

The drummer will offer a variety of material, from such staples as the blues and variations on “I Got Rhythm” to songs “that are out of my era, the ‘50s, like ‘Stablemates,’ ‘Nica’s Dream’ and ‘Parisian Thoroughfare.’ ”

At Chadney’s on New Year’s Eve, saxophonist-singer Jimmy Maddin also will investigate the ‘50s, but in a more Vegas mode. Leading his Happy Blues Jazz Train, Maddin will do such numbers as “I’m Confessin,’ ” “Old Black Magic” and “Just a Gigolo,” which were made hits by singer-trumpeter Louis Prima and his wife, singer Keely Smith.

“Louis was a good friend of mine, and so was his saxophonist, Sam Butera, so I’m kind of bringing his songs back,” says Maddin. “They appeal to young people.”

*

These days, Maddin does the Prima-Smith numbers with singer Terry Hunter. He originally did the act in the ‘50s with singer Beverly Adlin, who “was Errol Flynn’s girlfriend then” at the Sundown, a club Maddin owned in Hollywood. (He also owned The Summit, another Hollywood nightspot that is now the popular rock venue, Club Lingerie.)

Jazz is definitely part of a Maddin performance, which includes songs from the ‘40s associated with Louis Jordan--”I like him. He did a ‘happy-type’ blues”--and such classics from the ‘50s as “Four,” by Miles Davis.

“Mainstream jazz--that’s my bag,” Maddin says.

But New Year’s Eve calls for a more eclectic mix, says Maddin, who at previous year-end event has performed on bills with rock stars Jerry Lee Lewis and the Beach Boys.

“We’ll play jazz and blues,” says Maddin, whose band at Chadney’s includes guitarist Bruce Lofgren. “People will be in a festive mood, and I like to work hard to entertain them and put on a show.”

At the Baked Potato in North Hollywood, club owner/pianist Don Randi’s New Year’s Eve show will be more contemporary, with many tunes outfitted with a rock-based beat. “And, these days, people seem to be liking Latin music a lot more, so we’ll play a lot of that,” says the man who opened the Baked Potato in 1969. (The room of the same name in Pasadena is a franchise.)

On tap will be Randi’s band Quest, with Chuck Camper featured on saxophone, and he’ll have a guest singer. New Year’s Eve is either “fantastic, or it stinks. There’s no in-between,” Randi says.

But in recent years, he’s had wonderful New Year’s Eves, “with great audiences in a great mood, wanting to be entertained,” he says. “It’s been fun.”

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

Where and When

What: Frank Capp’s quartet at Legends of Hollywood, 11720 Ventura Blvd., Studio City.

Hours: 8:30 p.m. New Year’s Eve.

Price: $65, with special dinner.

Call: (818) 760-6631.

*

What: Jimmy Maddin at Chadney’s, 3000 W. Olive St., Burbank.

Hours: 9 p.m. to 1:30 a.m. New Year’s Eve.

Price: $10 cover before midnight, two-drink minimum.

Call: (818) 843-5333.

*

What: Don Randi and Quest at the Baked Potato, 3787 Cahuenga Blvd., North Hollywood.

Hours: Doors open 7 p.m., music from 9 p.m. New Year’s Eve.

Price: $50, special dinner menu, two drinks included, champagne toast.

Call: (818) 980-1615.