Trio Finds Rite Sound Acoustically

In a time when “unplugged” performances are in vogue, Stanley Clarke, Al DiMeola and Jean-Luc Ponty, three major artists who have made their living with sizzling electric playing for a good part of their careers, have also banded together to work acoustically.

Calling themselves the Rite of Strings, bassist Clarke, violinist Ponty and guitarist DiMeola are delivering both familiar and fresh material on their eponymously titled CD and as they tour Europe and the United States. They appear tonight at the Greek Theatre.

The format is stimulating to the artists.

“This music really comes to life on stage, and sometimes the crowd sparks us,” said Ponty, who last year moved back to his native France after living in Los Angeles for 22 years. “We keep experimenting, being spontaneous. If one guy starts with a really inspired idea, the other two can quickly respond and bring things to heights that are not so easily reached in other contexts. Especially now, since we have been on this U.S. tour for three or four weeks, we are still finding new things to do with the music.”

Rite of Strings was conceived in early 1994, the brainchild of respected manager and booking agent Ted Kurland. The musicians had never worked together in the same band, though Clarke and DiMeola were both members of Chick Corea’s classic fusion ensemble Return to Forever, and Ponty had played with Clarke on a few occasions, most prominently in a fusion trio led by drummer Tony Williams in the late ‘70s.

“So the first thing we wanted to see was if we could get away with just three guys without percussion or another rhythm instrument,” Ponty said. “We all play with high intensity, and the mixture sounded very full. On the other hand, at times it sounds bare, but the intimacy is really nice.”

Ponty said that money was certainly a factor in getting the threesome together, but essentially a minor one. “We all make money,” he said. “It’s more to do something at this stage in three very long careers, to try a new experience.”

Tuck and Patti will open for Rite of Strings at the Greek Theatre. Information: (213) 480-3232.

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Blue Note at the Bakery: Pianist Jacky Terrasson, guitarist Fareed Haque and drummer T.S. Monk are appearing at the Jazz Bakery this month in what might be called a mini-festival for Blue Note Records, for which they all record. Terrasson concludes a three-night stand tonight with his trio, Haque brings in a quartet on Saturday and Monk’s sextet works Wednesday through Sept. 16.

Bakery president and music director Ruth Price said the record label got behind the booking by buying advertising and tickets. This kind of tour support coupled with a reputation for allowing artists to pursue their vision makes Blue Note an ideal label, Terrasson said. “They let me be Jacky Terrasson,” said the pianist, who signed with Blue Note after winning the 1993 Thelonious Monk International Piano Competition.

Price is planning to present other Blue Note artists, among them saxophonist Javon Jackson and Marcus Printup, in the future.

Information: (310) 271-9039.

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Webb With Strings: Melodic-minded and hard swinging, tenor saxophonist Doug Webb has been employing guitarists rather than pianists for his regular Tuesday engagement at I Cugini in Santa Monica. “There’s a more open feeling with guitar than keyboard,” he said. “So there’s more freedom, more space, and that gives me a chance to further explore alternative harmonic and melodic possibilities.”

On tap with Webb are Larry Koonse on Tuesday, Ken Rosser on Sept. 19 and Dave Koonse on Sept. 26. Shows are from 9:30 p.m. to 12:30 a.m., and there’s no cover or minimum. Information: (310) 451-4595.

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Free Music: Drummer Joe LaBarbera’s natty fivesome appears tonight at 5:30 at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, (213) 857-6000. . . . Trumpeter Ron Stout plays Saturday, 1:30 to 4 p.m., at Pedrini Music in Alhambra, (213) 283-1932. . . . Violinist Susie Hansen plays hot Latin/jazz on Sunday, noon to 2 p.m., on Santa Monica’s 3rd Street Promenade, between Santa Monica Boulevard and Arizona Avenue, (213) 222-4400.

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Critic’s Choice: Drum whiz Mickey Roker makes a rare L.A. appearance with Toshiko Akiyoshi’s trio Tuesday through Sept. 17 at Catalina Bar & Grill, (213) 466-2210.