Just Playing Along

Lou Forestieri may not be a household name, but the folks on his worked-with list sure are.

Forestieri has backed singers Peggy Lee, Lena Horne and Johnny Hartman; trumpeter Bobby Hackett; trombonist Vic Dickenson; saxophonists Zoot Sims and Al Cohn; and harmonica player Toots Thielemans, among others. He’s also appeared on the big and little screens, performing with such stars as Bette Midler (in “For the Boys”) and Teri Hatcher (in the TV series “Lois and Clark”). He also coached Jeff Bridges for his role as pianist Jack Baker in “The Fabulous Baker Boys.” And more.

The pianist’s attitude toward his career is decidedly upbeat. “I just like being in music,” he said. “I’m one of the blessed people on the planet.”

Forestieri, who comes from Wilmington, Del., but has lived in Los Angeles since 1986, doesn’t play around town these days the way he used to. He’s gotten too busy with writing assignments for Dick Van Dyke’s CBS-TV series “Diagnosis Murder” and with various album recording projects. And he can be heard on alto saxophonist Richie Cole’s recent album, “West Side Story.”

But when he does play locally--as he will tonight and Friday at Monteleone’s in Tarzana, working with singers Edye Evans and Fred Dave, respectively--he pleases his singers and his audience with playing that comes from more than 40 years of experience.

Accompanying is one of Forestieri’s chief pleasures, and he goes about it his own way. “When I’m behind a singer or a horn player, I don’t think much about playing the piano,” he said. “I think about making arrangements. In my head, I hear the band.”

Forestieri has never worked with Evans, and has only appeared with Dave a time or two. No matter. The pianist likes the spontaneity of coming in and reading charts, or playing some ace standards everyone knows. “A musician should be able to go in and do whatever is asked of him,” he said.

The pianist, who names Oscar Peterson and Miles Davis as major jazz influences, will start each set at Monteleone’s on his own, delivering a tune or two. “Playing allows me to go off on tangents,” Forestieri said. “It’s a freedom I like.”

Forestieri first played accordion at age 7, switched to organ, then took up piano at age 21. “I went full tilt, practicing Beethoven and Mozart all day,” he said. “But I improvised, too. I always liked to make things up.”

Soon he was in New York and playing with such greats as Hackett and Dickenson, two of the finest traditional jazz men, and swing-rooted modernists Sims and Cohn. Forestieri accompanied Peggy Lee on Broadway. And he served as Lena Horne’s musical director for two years. “On stage she was magic. She’d start to sing and look 30 years younger,” he said.

When he moved to Los Angeles, things were slow at first, and Tom Monteleone, who owns Monteleone’s, proved to be a great help, hiring Forestieri as often as he could. These days, the pianist, who said he really doesn’t need the work, likes to return the favor. “People helping each other is a great thing,” he said. “I like to remember the people who helped me.”

* Lou Forestieri backs Edye Evans tonight, 7 to 11, and Fred Dave on Friday, 8:30 p.m. to 1 a.m., at Monteleone’s West, 19337 Ventura Blvd., Tarzana. No cover; without dinner, $9.95 food/drink minimum. Information: (818) 996-0662.

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Dual Talents: Mark Isham does a swell job of splitting himself between writing scores to films such as “Kiss the Girls” and playing an edgy, electronically boosted trumpet style that recalls latter-day Miles Davis, but without all that master’s chordal havoc. These days, Isham calls his jazzy stuff “New Electronic Alternative Ambient Groove Music.” How’s that for a handle? And he’ll offer it on Friday and Saturday, 9:30 and 11:30 p.m., at the Baked Potato (3787 Cahuenga Blvd., North Hollywood; $10 cover, two-drink minimum; (818) 980-1615). Isham brings along his longtime favored partners: guitarist Pete Mannu, bassist Doug Lunn and drummer Michael Barsimanto.

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Riding the Beat: I’ve often gone on in these pages about Bill Watrous’ immensely appealing tone, but the man can swing, too, with sweeping lines that pack plenty of rhythmic wallop. On Saturday, 9 p.m. to 1 a.m., Watrous leads his fine quartet with fleet-fingered pianist Shelly Berg, at Chadney’s (3000 W. Olive St., Burbank; no cover, one-drink minimum per show; [818] 843-5333.)