Taking a Bandstand

They come not for stump speeches on local government corruption but to revel in the sounds of Benny Goodman, Artie Shaw and Woody Herman. Mostly seniors, their dour expressions soften as the strains of the Ernani Bernardi Big Band fill the drab, low-ceilinged back room. Old politicians never die. They just find new bandstands.

One of the great contrarians Los Angeles has ever known, the legendary ex-city councilman now waxes harmonious with a 16-member ensemble every fourth Monday at Leon’s Steak House, a North Hollywood joint far from the twenty-something retro-swing circuit. (Their next gig is tomorrow night.) It’s the last place you’d expect to find a thriving music scene, but bandleader Bernardi, who left the council in 1993 after 32 years representing the 7th District (largely the central Valley), still draws the faithful.

And no wonder. The somewhat disheveled-looking band, at first glance anything but imposing, can play. Many are big band vets; one, a spry nonagenarian alto sax player named Ben Kanter, toured with Goodman and George Gershwin; pianist Don Beamsley formerly tapped the keys on the Dodger Stadium organ; and horn blower Mickey McMahon was a onetime trumpeter with Lawrence Welk.

Bernardi’s professional musical career began a few ticks of the clock before the Depression, and included stints with Goodman, Tommy Dorsey and Bob Crosby. In 1940, he left New York and came to California with Kay Kyser, a popular bandleader and radio host, but six years later hung up his alto saxophone. “I could foresee the end of the big band era,” says Bernardi, who, at 86, is a slightly hunched but still robust man dressed this night in a light-brown dotted shirt and tan slacks.

No one could have predicted that Bernardi would go on to become the Maynard Ferguson of L.A. politics, railing against all forms of fiscal waste and attacking with particular shrillness his favorite target--the Community Redevelopment Agency. Even now, between sets, his affable manner fades when the subject is raised.

“How are you going to do anything about the CRA?” he asks rhetorically, leaning forward with obvious consternation. “Sacramento is filled with killer bees. They’re pure puppets for the CRA. The public has been foiled.”

And with that, L.A.’s erstwhile dissonant voice returns to the bandstand, to ease into the ballad “Sentimental Over You.”