Early ’98 Lineup to Take the A-List Approach

It’s not too early to start planning your 1998 jazz calendar. Here’s a selected list of events to consider.

Concerts: Pianist Brad Mehldau’s trio will play Cicada restaurant in downtown’s historic Oviatt building on Jan. 4, as part of the Da Camera Society’s Chamber Music in Historic Sites series. (310) 954-4300.

Other Da Camera Society jazz concerts include the Poncho Sanchez Latin Jazz Band at the Mayan Theater on Feb. 8, and the Milt Jackson Quartet, with pianist Cedar Walton, at Union Station on March 8.

At Founders Hall at the Orange County Performing Arts Center, trumpeter Nicholas Payton leads his quintet on Jan. 2-3; the Diana Krall Trio will be there on Feb. 20-21, and bassist Charlie Haden teams with pianist Kenny Barron on April 3-4. (714) 556-2787.

Pianist-vocalist Krall can be seen at Veterans Wadsworth Theater on Feb. 22, as part of the UCLA Center for the Performing Arts series, which also includes pianist Marcus Roberts on May 3 at Veterans Wadsworth, and the team of saxophonist Joe Lovano and pianist Gonzalo Rubalcaba on May 30 at Royce Hall. (310) 825-2101.

Lovano and Rubalcaba will also appear at the El Camino College Center for the Arts on April 25. El Camino will host the 14-piece Mingus Big Band on March 28. (310) 329-5345.

The Luckman Theatre at Cal State L.A. will host the B Sharp Jazz Quartet and saxophonist-film composer Lennie Niehaus’ octet in a double bill on Feb. 21; the Clayton Hamilton Jazz Orchestra on March 7, and “The Jazz Messengers: The Legacy of Art Blakey,” with Benny Golson, Terence Blanchard, Curtis Fuller, Geoff Keezer, Peter Washington and Lewis Nash on May 2. (213) 343-6610.

The Cerritos Center for the Performing Arts hosts vocalist-keyboardist Diane Schuur and trumpeter Maynard Ferguson on April 3-4; Arturo Sandoval on May 9; and banjo man Bela Fleck and guitarist Stanley Jordan on May 22-23. (562) 916-8501.

Cleo Laine sings a program titled “Forever Ella” on May 3 at the Alex Theatre in Glendale. (818) 243-2539.

The Los Angeles County Museum of Art’s popular free Friday evening jazz series features duos in the first three months of the year, with pianist Alan Broadbent and bassist Putter Smith scheduled on Jan. 2 and 9; guitarist Larry Koonse and bassist Darek Oles on Jan. 16; pianist Jane Getz and bassist Henry Franklin on Jan. 23 and 30; and pianist Horace Tapscott and bassist Art Davis on Feb. 6 and 13. (213) 857-6000.

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In the Clubs: Catalina Bar & Grill will host Dave Frishberg, now through Jan. 4; singer Dianne Reeves, Jan. 8-11; Pharoah Sanders, Jan. 13-18; the Heath Brothers, Jan. 20-25; pianist Gene Harris, Jan. 27-Feb. 1; and drummer Jack DeJohnette, Feb. 4-8. (213) 466-2210.

At the Jazz Bakery, Gonzalo Rubalcaba continues through Jan. 3; saxophonist Joe Henderson’s sextet is in, Jan. 6-11; trumpeters Marcus Printup and Tim Hagans team with pianist Billy Childs’ trio in a tribute to Freddie Hubbard, Jan. 13-18; pianist George Shearing is in Jan. 21-25; saxophonist Don Braden, Jan. 27-31.

In February, the Jazz Bakery hosts trumpeter-percussionist Jerry Gonzalez’s Fort Apache Band, Feb. 3-8; pianist Fred Hersh, Feb. 9; Oregon, Feb. 10-11; saxophonist Bob Berg, Feb. 12-15; and the Max Roach Brass Choir, Feb. 17-22. (310) 271-9039.

Highlights on the schedule for the Bel Age Hotel’s Club Brasserie include saxman Red Holloway, Jan. 2-3; pianist Brad Mehldau, Jan. 7-10; saxophonist Gary Foster and pianist Alan Broadbent, Jan. 15-16; keyboardist Bobby Lyle, Jan. 23-24; and Walt Weiskopf, Jan. 29. (310) 854-1111.

Guitarist Bill Frisell’s trio with drummer Jim Keltner will play at McCabe’s Guitar Shop in Santa Monica, Jan. 9-10. (310) 828-4497.

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On the Turntable: Many of the artists mentioned above will be touring in support of albums that will be released in the new year. Joe Lovano and Gonzalo Rubalcaba team on the Blue Note release “Flying Colors,” due in stores Jan. 13. On the same day, Atlantic Jazz will release Fred Hersch’s “Thelonious: Fred Hersch Plays Monk,” and Blue Note will release the Tim Hagans-Marcus Printup tribute to Freddie Hubbard, “Hubsongs.”

Nonesuch will release the Bill Frisell trio’s “Gone, Just Like a Train,” on Jan. 6. The Mingus Big Band’s “Que Viva Mingus” will be released on Dreyfus, Jan. 20, and the Kenny Barron-Charlie Haden collaboration “Night in the City” is scheduled for release on March 10, from Verve.

Other CDs to look for early in 1998: tuba player George Howard’s brassy ensemble Gravity has “Right Now!,” with guest Taj Mahal, due out Jan. 13 on Verve; trumpeter Mark Isham’s “Afterglow” (Columbia), Jan. 20; and two releases from Charlie Haden, both titled “The Montreal Tapes,” feature the bassist in concert with pianists Geri Allen and Rubalcaba, due Jan. 27 on Verve. GRP will release pianist Eric Reed’s “Pure Imagination” on Feb. 10, the same day Blue Note is set to release Jackie McLean’s “Fire and Love: Jackie McLean and the Macband” and arranger-bandleader-saxophonist Bob Belden’s “Tapestry.”

Tribute: Eric von Essen, the 43-year-old bassist-composer who died in Sweden of heart failure Sept. 14, will be remembered at the Jazz Bakery on Monday at 8 p.m., in a program that includes appearances from Alan Broadbent, Stacy Rowles, Alex and Nels Cline, Jeff Gauthier, Larry Karush, members of the Jazz Tap Ensemble and others. Proceeds will benefit the Von Essen family.

A longtime Los Angeles resident, Von Essen was the founder of the chamber-jazz ensemble Quartet Music, and worked with Jimmy Rowles, Art Farmer, Frank Morgan, George Cables, Sheila Jordan, Shorty Rogers and Bob Brookmeyer over the years. He was professor of jazz studies at Sweden’s Swerigefinska Folkhogskolan at the time of his death. Information: (310) 271-9039.