A Big-Time Celebration of the Big Band Sound Nears

The big jazz bands. Just about everybody loves them, and everybody seems to have a favorite, from Duke Ellington, Count Basie and Fletcher Henderson to Stan Kenton, Woody Herman and the Thad Jones-Mel Lewis Orchestra.

But financial realities have made the maintenance of a big jazz band one of the most quixotic of professions. Few leaders have done well for more than brief periods of time.

Despite the money woes, despite changing interests in music, despite revolving personnel, big bands--over the past six or seven decades--have produced a remarkable amount of fascinating jazz. And KLON-FM’s “Blowin’ Up a Storm,” a four-day celebration that takes place next week in Long Beach and on Catalina Island, is an intrepid effort to provide a sampling of the width and breadth of big band jazz.

Almost everything in “Blowin’ Up a Storm” is worth checking out, from the many different performances to a variety of panel discussions. Registration for the entire four days, including round-trip transportation to Catalina Island for Friday’s full schedule, is $300. But it’s also possible to purchase tickets for individual events. Here’s a quick survey of the don’t-miss programs:

* Thursday: The Duke Ellington Alumni Band. Among the players are Clark Terry, Bill Berry, Louis Bellson, Norris Turney and Britt Woodman. A rare opportunity to hear the marvelous music of Ellington and Billy Strayhorn in a live performance. Sheraton Long Beach Hotel. 8 p.m., $30.

* Next Friday: “The Unheard Stan Kenton” and the Woody Herman Orchestra. A Kenton alumni band plays music by Pete Rugolo, Gerry Mulligan, Bill Holman, Shorty Rogers, etc., that was written for Kenton but never recorded. And the Herman Herd, led by Frank Tiberi, will feature special guests Terry Gibbs, Chubby Jackson, Ralph Burns and Pete and Conti Candoli. Casino Ballroom, Catalina Island. 6 p.m., $60, including round-trip transportation.

* May 25: A panel discussion with Artie Shaw. Even if he had not been one of the most persistently adventurous musical artists of his era, Shaw would be an interesting character. Outspoken and sometimes curmudgeonly, he’s not likely to censor any of his opinions about the state of jazz or the state of the world. Sheraton Long Beach Hotel. 1:30 p.m., $8.

* May 25: “Swing to Bop With the Count Basie Orchestra” and “Things to Come: Big Band Bebop,” with John Lewis, Chico O’Farrill and Chubby Jackson conducting charts from the bands of Dizzy Gillespie, Billy Eckstine, Tadd Dameron, etc. Terrace Theatre, Long Beach. 8 p.m., $20, $30 and $50.

* May 26: “Remembering the Thad Jones-Mel Lewis Orchestra.” Conducted by Bob Brookmeyer, with the rarely heard Billy Harper, tenor saxophone, and Johnny Coles, trumpet, among the soloists. Sheraton Long Beach Hotel, 2 p.m., $15.

* May 26: “Out of the Cool--Into the Hot.” The music of Gil Evans, including selections from “Miles Ahead,” “Sketches of Spain” and “Porgy and Bess,” with the underrated Coles performing the Miles Davis passages. And a tribute to Gerry Mulligan, with arrangements from Mulligan’s Concert Jazz Band directed by Brookmeyer, Johnny Mandel and Bill Holman. Sheraton Long Beach Hotel, 8 p.m., $30.

Jazz fans can also get a taste of the big band weekend at a free community concert on Wednesday, when Loren Shoenberg leads an all-star alumni ensemble in a presentation of Benny Goodman’s music at the downtown Long Beach Amphitheatre, 7 p.m.

(For information on “Blowin’ Up a Storm,” call [310] 985-1686.

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Playboy Tickets: Tickets for another important event, the Playboy Jazz Festival on June 15 and 16 at the Hollywood Bowl, are going fast. Although boxes are already sold out, seats are still available in other areas. Playboy has free community programs too. Singer Carmen Bradford and saxophonist Harold Land appear outdoors at the Baldwin Hills Crenshaw Plaza-Magic Johnson Theatres complex tonight at 5 as part of the Playboy Jazz Festival’s pre-fest concert series. Information: (310) 449-4070.

Playboy’s program for next weekend will be three days of jazz at the Old Pasadena Summer Fest in Central Park. Among the major participants: the Charlie Hunter Trio and Paul Taylor on May 25; Freddie Ravel, Billy Mitchell and Huayucaltia on May 26; Ronnie Laws, Bobby Rodriguez and Sandra Booker on May 27. The programs are scheduled between 10 a.m. and 8 p.m. Information: (818) 797-6830.

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On the Airwaves: Composer-arranger Maria Schneider’s Jazz Orchestra can be heard on National Public Radio’s “JazzSet With Branford Marsalis” on Tuesday at 10 p.m. on KPCC-FM (89.3). After “JazzSet” at 11 p.m. is the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra’s performance of “Blood on the Fields,” the Ellington-flavored meditation on slavery composed by the orchestra’s musical director, Wynton Marsalis. The broadcast is part of the weekly “Jazz From Lincoln Center: The Sound of the Century” series.

On cable TV, the Bravo channel’s “Masters of American Music” series continues tonight with “Bluesland: A Portrait of American Music.” The program traces the history of blues from the Mississippi Delta to the streets of Chicago, tonight at 6:30. It repeats Saturday at 1 a.m.

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Free Music: Pianist Joe Sample plays Borders Books, 1415 3rd St., Santa Monica, tonight at 8 p.m. (310) 393-9698. . . . The six-piece ensemble led by saxophonist Kim Richmond and trumpeter Clay Jenkins appears tonight on the plaza at the L.A. County Museum of Art, 5905 Wilshire Blvd.; 5:30 p.m. (213) 857-6000.

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Tribute: Pianist Horace Tapscott’s trio and bassist Art Davis’ quartet appear at a tribute to drummer Billy Higgins on Saturday at 5 p.m. at the World Stage, 4344 Degnan Blvd., Leimert Park Village. The afternoon-long event begins at noon with a showing of the documentary film “A Great Day in Harlem” followed at 2:30 p.m. by a mass photo session with Los Angeles musicians, modeled after the photo session on which the film is based. Information: (213) 293-2451.

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Jazz in Print: “Central Avenue--Its Rise and Fall (1890-1955) Including the Musical Renaissance of Black Los Angeles,” a 380-page history of L.A.’s long-gone entertainment strip written by former Los Angeles Commissioner of Cultural Affairs Bette Yarbrough Cox, is now available from BEEM Publications. Information: (213) 291-7252.

Freelance writer Bill Kohlhaase contributed to this article.