Jazz Veteran--With Vigor

Vibist Terry Gibbs, at 72, technically may be a senior member of the jazz community, but age hasn’t slowed down his facility or his fast-tongued comic patter. That much was obvious as he laid into fleet-handed, crisply detailed solos Saturday night at the Jazz Hall in Santa Barbara.

In the intimate environs of the Jazz Hall, Gibbs sparred musically with his son, drummer Gerry Gibbs, and mimicked the hand gestures of bassist Andy Simpkins, who played rigorous solos, punctuated with wild swoops up the fingerboard. Pianist Tom Ranier also showed himself to be a gifted instrumental switch-hitter, picking up the clarinet for a run through the tune “Flying Home.”

Gibbs bubbles with energy, even come ballad time. The band slowed down an otherwise up-tempo late set with “I’m Getting Sentimental Over You,” its melody surrounded in ornamentation, and Gibbs’ solo was carved out in vigorous phrases.

A longtime Angeleno, Gibbs has shown up in this region periodically, including at a concert at Wheeler Hot Springs in 1995. This Sunday, his group--the same lineup as at Jazz Hall but with the addition of Abe Most on clarinet--will present a Benny Goodman tribute as part of the Brandeis-Bardin Institute’s “Under the Stars” summer concerts, the first official jazz program in the series.

In 1924, Terry Gibbs was born Julius Gubenko in New York City, and moved to Los Angeles in 1957. He made his way through a succession of high-profile big band jobs, including stints with Tommy Dorsey, Woody Herman, Buddy Rich and, for two years, Benny Goodman himself. Out here, Gibbs found ample studio work and was musical director of “The Steve Allen Show” during the ‘60s.

Meanwhile, he led his own jazz big band, dubbed the Dream Band and has worked in small combos. Gibbs is a good candidate for making the Brandeis-Bardin series a safe haven for jazz, and, as a veteran of Goodman’s band, a musician with a first-hand connection to the clarinet swing king.

* Terry Gibbs, “All That Jazz!” at 7:30 p.m. Sunday, Brandeis-Bardin Institute, 1101 Peppertree Lane, Simi Valley. Gates open at 5:30 p.m. Tickets are $20; 582-4450.

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Jazz Returns: One of the more unusual and satisfying events on the local jazz calendar last year was the mini-festival presented at the more than 100-year-old Union Hotel in the tiny town of Los Alamos, an hour north of Santa Barbara.

At that time, there was a possibility of this becoming a regular jazz venue, with the potential involvement of Santa Barbara jazz club manager Terry Briggs. Briggs has since moved to Salt Lake City, but a new owner has taken over the hotel, and an expanded jazz festival lands on the lawn this weekend, sponsored by the Santa Barbara Jazz Society.

Saturday’s lineup features a 10-piece band led by drummer Chuck Flores--a Woody Herman veteran--the vocal group Champagne, and Soul City Survivors, an R&B; horn band. On Sunday, the schedule includes jazz pianist Peter Clarke’s band, infectious Brazilian singer Teka, local Latin-jazz luminaries the Estrada Brothers, and trumpeter Jeff Elliot’s quintet, featuring special guest Les McCann.

* “The Full Moon Big Band Affair,” on Saturday from 3 p.m.-midnight, and Sunday from 12:30-7 p.m., at the Union Hotel, 362 Bell St., Los Alamos. Tickets are $20 per person or $35 per couple; 344-2744.

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Young-Blooded Sounds: Last September, the respected Oxnard-based composer Miguel del Aguila secured grants and embarked on an ambitious project to teach composition to young students who would otherwise have no such opportunity. Working at Frank Intermediate School and Oxnard College, del Aguila has developed a program encouraging the creativity of young composer-musicians. Music by 15 of the program’s students will be performed by the Voices Ensemble on Tuesday.

* “Voices,” a concert of young composers, 7 p.m. Tuesday at Oxnard Performing Arts Center, 800 Hobson Way. Free; 488-3374.