Four-Wheel Drive : Dedicated Musicians Cover Plenty of Terrain on ‘Guitars, Saxes and More’ Tour

Talk to the horn-playing half of the four-man “Guitars, Saxes and More” tour that rolls into the Coach House on Saturday, and you’ll hear how rewarding the stint, which began Feb. 7 in Boston, has been.

Saxophonist Kirk Whalum and trumpeter Rick Braun--Braun is the “More” in the billing--both have kind words for their guitar-playing fellow tour members, Peter White and Marc Antoine, despite the pressure of more than 30 appearances in less than two months.

“We’d play, then drive that night to the next show,” said Braun, who was interviewed by phone from his home in Woodland Hills. “The tour bus had bunks, but sleeping in them is not like getting real sleep. You wake up with ‘bus head.’ When the tour is over, we’ll probably need a tape of an idling diesel engine to get any sleep.”

Despite calling it the hardest tour he’s ever done (and Braun has toured with Rod Stewart, Tina Turner and Sade, among others), he said the principals got along fine.

“There was never a moment when we doubted we had the right combination of people. There were no major disagreements, no musical problems. Everything was very positive.”

Whalum, speaking from his home in Pasadena, said that all four members wanted to give the audience a good time and have one themselves.

“It’s a fun show, with an emphasis on entertainment. I feel that jazz is a many-splendored thing but a controversial thing. It used to be about entertainment; you had the Satchmo [Louis Armstrong] era, the big-band era, when the dance halls were full of people. It was the pop music of the day.

“But I think we strayed away from that in the late ‘40s and in the ‘50s, when the bebop era arrived. Jazz became more contemplative, more introspective, more intellectual. [With this tour] we’ve all decided that we want to go out and make people forget their problems, not remind them of them.”

The show goes through a variety of moods and styles, according to Whalum, as the principals do individual sets and make guest appearances with each other.

“It’s one continuous show. We use my rhythm section. Marc [Antoine], who’s from Paris, comes out first, then Rick [Braun], who makes quite a contrast--he’s from Pennsylvania. Then there’s Peter White from England, and me, I grew up in Memphis. . . . Just when you think you’ve got everything set, something new happens to keep it fresh.”

Whalum is probably the best known of the four, having toured with Whitney Houston and played with such acts as George Benson, Marcus Miller, Luther Vandross and Nancy Wilson.

He began playing sax for his father’s church choir in Memphis and still shows the gospel and R&B; influences of his youth. After moving to Houston, Whalum one night opened for keyboardist Bob James, who was so impressed with the saxophonist that he flew him to New York to record his 1979 album “12.” Their relationship continues; they recently collaborated for an album to be released soon by Warner Bros. Records.

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Whalum’s previous album, “In This Life,” reflects his Tennessee roots, with strong gospel and R&B; leanings as well as a touch of country. He says that this mix reflects his background as well as a desire to give the people what they want.

“I see my own music not so much as jumping over [stylistic] fences, but just as imagining the fences aren’t there. That’s the way music used to be. During the time I was growing up in the South, the lines between R&B;, country, gospel and pop all ran together. Jazz came later to me. Now I don’t want to leave any stone unturned.”

Braun picked up the trumpet as a third-grader in Allentown, Penn., then went on to study at the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, N.Y.

His first album for the Bluemoon label, “Night Walk” in 1994, was a cool, moody affair that was still accessible enough to rank high on contemporary-jazz radio playlists. The follow-up, “Beat Street,” took a funkier tack, spending 13 weeks at No. 1 on Gavin’s jazz/adult-alternative radio play chart.

“I’m going more to an urban sound in my own music now,” Braun said. “I’ve had the opportunity to play with a lot of funky bands over my career, so it’s certainly part of my style.

“A lot of contemporary music tends to be of the background sort. What catches people’s ears, besides a great melody, is the feel of the tune, a good beat that pulls them out of what they’re doing and into the music.”

Braun is enthusiastic about the guitarists who join him and Whalum on this tour. “Peter is an incredible entertainer; he really knows how to involve the audience in the performance. You can’t really appreciate him unless you see him live. And he’s a wonderfully melodic writer.

“Marc, the crazy Frenchman, is also an incredible talent,” he said. “He has a very special place in contemporary music right now. His music is very urban, yet he plays nylon string guitar in a very romantic fashion over it. It’s very funky, very moody and appealing.”

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The foursome takes a break after the Coach House performance before hitting the road again in June. Whalum will use the time to record with an old friend, guitarist Larry Carlton, as well as to prepare material for a new album and move to Nashville.

Braun also will be working on material for a new album, as well as continuing work as a producer (he’s done albums for guitarist Jeff Golub’s Ave. Blue and saxophonist Boney James in the recent past).

But the first order of business will be a little more mundane, Whalum said with a laugh: “I think we’re all ready for some rest.”

* “Guitars, Saxes and More” will be presented Saturday at the Coach House, 33157 Camino Capistrano, San Juan Capistrano; 7 and 9:30 p.m. $19.50-$21.50. (714) 496-8930.