Blasting Stereotypes

At least two cultural stereotypes were challenged Sunday night, when the all-female quintet the Jazzbirds arrived at the Simi Valley Cultural Arts Center. Jazz in Simi? Women in a male-dominated scene? Yes, to both counts, and a fine time was had by all.

Nothing new here, really: It was the finale of a four-concert jazz series at the center, which also featured Janet Carol, Ross Tompkins and Sam Most.

Leading the Jazzbirds are veteran horn player Betty O’Hara and noted trumpeter Stacy Rowles, who also play together in the all-female big band, Maiden Voyage.

Here the group was rounded out with pianist Liz Kinnon, bassist Ida Bodin and drummer Jeanette Wrate. The program was a mix of standards, usually rearranged by members of the group (like Kinnon’s revisions of “Caravan” and “Manteca”), and originals.

The distinguishing sound of this group has less to do with gender--although the all-female makeup of the group is unusual enough in today’s jazz scene--than with the two-horn front line. Because of the players’ smooth approaches, the brass sound is a warm wind, and not at all brash.

O’Hara showed an easy command of the trombone, cornet and a mutant instrument called the double-bell euphonium, which allows for a split-register personality: here low, there high. She sang a duet with Rowles on “Squeeze Me,” and savored the sparseness of a duet with bassist Bodin on “One for My Baby.”

Rowles is the daughter of noted jazz pianist Jimmy Rowles, who died last year, and she seems to have inherited some of his innate lyricism. She sang “Do You Know Why the Stars Come Out at Night?” and “More Than You Know” with a soft, breathy voice reminiscent of another singing trumpeter, Chet Baker.

Rowles and O’Hara are, by now, solid players in the small but growing ranks of female jazz musicians. The recent rise of respected players such as Diana Krall, Maria Schneider, Geri Allen, Cindy Blackmon, Renee Rosnes and others has shown that while jazz may be primarily a man’s scene, anyone can wear the pants.

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VENUE FROM HEAVEN: One of the extra-musical attractions of the Ventura County Master Chorale’s season has to do with their use of hallowed halls. Rather than stick to established concert spaces, they tend to take up temporary residence in various churches around the county.

This makes logistic sense, since the chorale enlists the help of the hosting church. And when the acoustics and the ambience are just right, it can also enhance the concert experience.

Saturday night, the Master Chorale presented the third concert of its season in the striking sanctuary of Padre Serra Church in Camarillo, an impressive place, which has been open for just 1 1/2 years.

Inside, the church boasts strong clean lines in an area that is more polygonal than cruciform, creating a sense of spaciousness and a feeling of intimacy at the same time.

Huge fixtures with an Arts and Crafts, Frank Lloyd Wright-ish motif disperse light beneath the complex weave of ceiling rafters. In short, it is a dramatic place to take in the refined choral sounds of Handel’s “Messiah,” this version emphasizing the Easter references. The piece, whether heard in its usual yuletide setting or otherwise, is a rarity in the repertoire, a reflexive crowd-pleaser.

The real centerpiece of the program, however, was the Requiem by French composer Maurice Durufle, a work that manages to nod to its Gregorian roots, touch down on Impressionism and reveal its 20th century stripes.

Here, Master Chorale’s Burns Taft proved himself a sturdy guide through the wavering emotional and stylistic terrain of the piece.

Soloists included mezzo-soprano Linda Foster, who fared nicely on the “Pie Jesu,” and the young, assured baritone Andrew Samonsky.

By turns comforting and a bit tortured, the Requiem concludes with a sigh of relief and resignation, accepting of death as a force in life. Affairs are in order.

Next up on the Master Chorale calendar, the smaller vocal group within the organization known as the MasterSingers Ensemble will give concerts April 11-13, and then the full chorale with orchestra will perform Mozart’s Mass in C Minor on May 3 as part of the Ventura Chamber Music Festival.