University of Idaho to Get Feather Archives

The archives of Leonard Feather, the late Times jazz critic and author, are being donated by Feather’s family to the Lionel Hampton School of Music at the University of Idaho.

The archives, comprising letters, manuscripts, interview tapes, original music, books, phonograph records, CDs and other memorabilia, will be housed in the newly formed Leonard Feather Library at the Hampton School’s Center for Jazz Study, according to publicist Virginia Wicks.

The material, which will be available to students and researchers, will be transferred from Southern California to the university “as soon as that can feasibly be done, and certainly within this year,” Wicks said.

In acknowledging Feather’s contribution to jazz, Hampton, 85, said, “Since way back in the 1940s, he was close to us musicians and cared about what we were playing and writing and greatly helped loosen the barriers existing for Afro-American musicians.”

Hampton will serve again as host of the Lionel Hampton Jazz Festival, to be held at the university Wednesday through Feb. 25. On tap will be bassist Ray Brown, trumpeter Arturo Sandoval, pianists Hank Jones and Benny Green and singer Dianne Reeves, and many others. The festival will honor the late jazz critic by naming its final concert in his honor.

Information on this year’s festival: (208) 885-6765.

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Honoring Carmen: Sandra Booker, Stephanie Haynes, Cathy Segal- Garcia, Linda Hopkins and Barbara Morrison are among the many singers paying tribute to the wondrous Carmen McRae in a celebration to be held Sunday, from noon to 5 p.m., at Catalina Bar & Grill in Hollywood. Other performers include saxophonists Joe Henderson and Bob Sheppard and pianists George Gaffney, Frank Collett and Billy Childs, some of whom worked with McRae, who died in November at the age of 68.

“Carmen specified that she didn’t want a memorial service, so this is a celebration, a way to thank Carmen for what she’s done for jazz,” said Barbara Brighton, who organized the event. “So many singers were influenced by her.”

A $15 donation is requested, with proceeds going to Jazz America, an educational jazz advocacy organization; the Musician’s Foundation, which benefits needy musicians and their families; and the World Stage, the nonprofit nightclub-educational establishment in Los Angeles’ Crenshaw district.

Information: (213) 466-2210.

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Smithsonian on the Air: Eight concerts by the acclaimed Smithsonian Jazz Masterworks Orchestra will be broadcast Mondays, 11 p.m. to midnight, on KPCC-FM (89.3). The programs, which run through March 27, will feature transcriptions of the music of such greats as Fletcher Henderson, Duke Ellington, Tommy Dorsey and Jimmie Lunceford, played by the Smithsonian orchestra.

Information: (818) 585-7000.

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Free Music: Kenny Burrell leads an orchestra, choir and dancers in a free performance of Sacred Music by Duke Ellington on Monday, 7:30 p.m., at Loyola Marymount University. The concert takes place in LMU’s Sacred Heart Chapel (Loyola Boulevard at West 80th Street, Westchester). For tickets, which are necessary for admission, call (310) 338-7588.

Another free tribute to Ellington takes place Thursday, 11 a.m., at USC’s Bovard Auditorium when Louie Bellson’s big band plays music by the maestro. The performance is in conjunction with “Beyond Category: The Musical Genius of Duke Ellington,” an exhibit of Ellingtonia currently on view at the California Afro-American Museum (600 State Drive, Exposition Park).

Information for the concert and exhibit: (213) 744-7432.

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Datebook: “A Great Day in Harlem,” the Academy Award-nominated documentary by Jean Bach about the taking of a photograph of scores of jazz greats for an Esquire magazine cover in 1958, opens a brief run at the Nuart Theatre in West Los Angeles on Feb. 24; (310) 478-6379.

The California Coffee House, partly owned by Gina Higgins (wife of drummer Billy Higgins), is yet another place for jazz in L.A. The room, which debuted with a performance by Harold Land, Higgins and others on Jan. 28, is located at 4455 Overland Ave., Culver City, (310) 559-8868. Jazz is featured on Saturdays, 3 to 5 p.m., with no cover, no minimum. This Saturday: pianist Harold Land, Jr.’s trio, with bassist James Leary.

At Legends of Hollywood in Studio City, (818) 760-6631, it’s Jack Sheldon tonight and Saturday, Viva (a swell Latin band with Bobby Matos and Dan Weinstein) on Sundays and bassist Kevin O’Neal’s fine nine-piece band, with trombonist Phil Ranelin and saxman Louis Taylor, among others, on Mondays.

Trumpeter Jerry Rusch brings the crew on his recent “Native L.A.” CD--including Billy Higgins, masterful trombonist Thurman Green and solid saxmen Richard Aplanalp and Jim Marentic--into the Club Brasserie in West Hollywood, (310) 854-1111, on Tuesday.

Bill Holman’s big band, an enterprising mix of sonority and adventure, warms up the Jazz Bakery in Culver City, (310) 271-9039, on Sunday at 8 p.m. “Tonight Show” bandleader Kevin Eubanks, with percussionist Adam Rudolph, is in at 3 p.m.