Back in the Spotlight

Last July 4, conductor Paul Polivnick struck up the nascent Channel Islands Symphony Orchestra at Libbey Bowl in Ojai. The event was simultaneously forward-looking and nostalgic, since the now-defunct Ventura County Symphony used to do the honors here.

The concert had a progressive air, too, in that the Channel Islands orchestra was formed partly in response to the void left when the Ventura County Symphony and Conejo Valley Symphony fused into the New West Symphony. An ambitious, yet manageable, season of Channel Islands concerts was planned for this past season, but was postponed until further notice.

It’ll be interesting to measure the tone Friday, when the orchestra returns to Libbey Bowl for a program that mixes light and serious culture with a focus on notable locals. The dynamic Ojai-based cellist Virginia Kron will perform Dvorak’s Cello Concerto in B minor.

Singer-songwriter Amanda McBroom will perform Gershwin and her own hit, “The Rose.” Also on the program will be a fitting dose of Sousa marches, Dudley Buck’s “Festival Overture on the Star Spangled Banner” and Bernstein’s Overture to “Candide.”

This time around, the conductor will be Nan Washburn, a Ventura County native and former flutist with the Ventura County Symphony. After earning her bachelor’s degree at UC Santa Barbara and her master’s at the New England Conservatory, she settled in Northern California, where she leads the Rohnert Park Chamber Orchestra.

The Channel Islands symphony saga continues.

* Channel Islands Symphony Orchestra, Friday, 6 p.m., at Ojai’s Libbey Bowl. Tickets are $10 in advance, $13 at the door, children under 18 are free. (805) 497-1902.

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More Fourth Music: Another Independence Day option is on the scenic campus of the Music Academy of the West in Santa Barbara, where the first of seven “Picnic Concerts” takes place in Abravanel Hall. The grounds open to picnickers before the 7:30 p.m. concert.

To say that these are student concerts should dissuade no one, considering the high caliber of students who come to the academy from around the world. The “Picnic” series continues Fridays through Aug. 1, with additional concerts Aug. 7 and 14.

* “Picnic Concert,” Friday, 7:30 p.m., in Abravanel Hall at the Music Academy of the West, 1070 Fairway Road, Santa Barbara. Tickets are $10; 969-8787.

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Ford’s Better Idea: Ojai is his home when he’s home, but guitarist Robben Ford belongs to the world, wherever signature guitar playing is appreciated. Earlier this year, Ford’s years as a feisty young blues man came to light on the “Discovering the Blues,” a release of 20-year-old live recordings. Now comes his newest album, “Tiger Walk” (Blue Thumb), an exciting package that is both a surprise and a logical extension of his life in music.

Ford’s last few albums have been in a stylized blues mode, mixing instrumental prowess and vocals. The latest album, though, is all instrumental with a kind of R&B-jazz; attitude that nods in the direction of Booker T. and the MGs, but that also makes a connection with such young guitar music-makers as Charlie Hunter.

Ford is in fine, funky company. He’s got the limber rhythmic force of Steve Jordan--a real head-meets-heart player--on the drums, and the saucy pads of veteran Bernie Worrell on clavinet and organ. For the horn’s sake, tenor saxophonist Bob Malach and baritone saxophonist Ronnie Cuber poke their heads in on a few tunes, including the crisply cool “Ghosts.”

On this set of simple-yet-appealing original tunes (except a version of “I Can’t Stand the Rain”), Ford’s riffing is, true to form, stinging and sweet, with tie-lines to both jazz and blues. On the title cut, he switch-hits between a bright, sassy tone and a more muted jazz-encoded sound.

Whatever particular groove he dials up, Ford sounds like Ford, one of the most distinctive electric guitarists to come down the pike.