Commercial Success

Patrick Tuzzolino is all over the TV these days, but you won’t see him.

The vocalist-pianist works off camera, and is responsible for the words and music for three hot network commercials: a lady’s shaving cream spot, which is running several times a day; an athletic shoe ad that features tennis whiz Pete Sampras; and a beer spot.

Tuzzolino, who appears Friday and Aug. 15 at the Moonlight in Sherman Oaks, has performed for about 20 commercials in the past year. He said he’s quite pleased both with the kind of work--he’s basically asked to do his own style of jazz--and the income. “Those checks coming in really help,” he said.

Still, nothing beats a good audience. “On stage is where I’m supposed to be,” Tuzzolino said. “That’s where I really fit in.”

The 42-year-old artist, a native of Mamaroneck, N.Y., cut his teeth on the jazz scene in New York. He began making regular appearances in Los Angeles, where he now lives, in the ‘80s and ‘90s at Hy’s and the Nucleus Nuance. Recently, he was a hit at the “Jazz in Central Park” bash in Pasadena.

At the Moonlight, he plays with reedman Sam Most and drummer Carl Saunders. There’s no bass, per se: Tuzzolino provides it with his left hand on a keyboard that sits atop his piano, which he plays with his right hand.

He adds his distinctive vocals that draw on such inspirations as Sinatra and Louis Prima. Tuzzolino said that he and Saunders, who is also a well-known jazz trumpeter, “really lock in on the time between bass and drums.” He said that Most, one of the first in modern jazz to play flute, offers “lyrical creations that are unbelievably beautiful.”

There’s a lot of energy in the musician’s versions of such upbeat numbers as Gerry Mulligan’s “Line for Lyons,” replete with animated scat singing, and “Old Black Magic,” a big hit for Prima. There’s also the occasional Charlie Parker number, to which he’ll sing the recorded solo, and the now-and-then lulling ballad, like a Sinatra tribute with “Moonlight in Vermont.”

This mix is Tuzzolino, the kind of music he loves, the kind of music he heard growing up in Mamaroneck. “It’s a jazz show with some of that Las Vegas enthusiasm, so it’s really about joy,” he said. “I want to make the listeners groove, which means feel good. I want to play something that moves them, makes them want to get up and dance.”

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Still Swinging: In the ‘50s and ‘60s, Russell Garcia was an important member of the Los Angeles jazz community. The composer-arranger-trumpeter wrote for saxophone master Johnny Hodges, bass giant Ray Brown and Stan Kenton’s Neophonic Orchestra. He also worked in the world of pop music and film and TV, crafting scores for Andy Williams, Judy Garland and the movie “The Time Machine.”

Garcia hasn’t been a big presence on the jazz scene of late, so his appearance with his big band on Tuesday at the Moonlight (8 and 10 p.m., $13 cover for 8 p.m. show, $9 cover for 10 p.m., $9.95 food or drink minimum) is a nice surprise. He’ll be joined by the singer Tierney Sutton.

BE THERE

Patrick Tuzzolino appears Friday, 8 p.m., at the Moonlight, 13730 Ventura Blvd., Sherman Oaks. $2 cover, $9.95 food or drink minimum. (818) 788-2000.