Bowl to Bring Peterson Back to L.A.

Pianist Oscar Peterson, making his first Los Angeles appearance in eight years, leads the list of jazz artists appearing this summer at the Hollywood Bowl’s Wednesday night Lexus Jazz at the Bowl series. Peterson’s last L.A. performance was at the Bowl in 1990. The Canadian pianist is slowly returning to performing again after suffering a stroke in 1993.

The series takes a wide-angle view of jazz in its 1998 schedule, with Ray Charles headlining one night of the five-night series and, in a repeat from last year, a Brazilian night, though with mostly different musicians from those in the 1997 program. The series opens July 22 with Rosemary Clooney, the Count Basie Orchestra directed by Grover Mitchell, the Dirty Dozen Brass Band and the Preservation Hall Jazz Band.

On Aug. 5, it’s “A Night in Brazil” with a performer yet to be announced and a salute to Antonio Carlos Jobim with Flora Purim, Airto, Nana Vasconcelos and Oscar Castro-Neves. The Aug. 19 program includes Peterson’s trio, the Diana Krall Trio (Krall appeared at last year’s Bowl salute to Benny Carter) and the Henry Mancini Institute Orchestra directed by Jack Elliott.

R&B; singer Charles appears Sept. 2 on a bill that also includes singer Nnenna Freelon. The Sept. 16 program is titled “Blakey Mingus & Dizzy: A Tribute to the Masters” and features the Mingus Big Band; the Jazz Messengers: The Legacy of Art Blakey directed by saxophonist Benny Golson; and the United Nations Orchestra led by saxophonist Paquito D’Rivera. Further information: (213) 850-2000.

Factory Work: Knitting Factory founder Michael Dorf was in Los Angeles earlier this month looking at possible sites for a West Coast edition of his downtown Manhattan music club. No location was chosen, according to Sony Aronson, promotions manager for the Knitting Factory, who says that Dorf still has a general goal of opening a Los Angeles Knitting Factory some time in the fall of 1998.

Known for cutting edge jazz, avant-garde and alternative music performances, the New York Knitting Factory opened in 1987 and moved to its current three-level TriBeCa performance space in 1994. Aronson confirmed that the club is also looking for a location in London.

New Music: The New Music Monday series, a weekly showcase for L.A.’s alternative jazz and improvisational musicians, is on the move again. The 4-year-old series originated at the now-defunct Alligator Lounge in Santa Monica before relocating late last year to the Gig in West Los Angeles.

Now on hiatus, New Music Monday is scheduled to resume on Mondays at LunaPark in West Hollywood, beginning March 16 with guitarist Nels Cline’s ensemble and the Napalm Quartet, with guitarist G.E. Stinson. The series will continue at LunaPark March 23 and 30, then switch to the first and third Mondays of each month. Information: (310) 478-3485.

Alto Man: Adept alto saxophonist Jim Snidero, who appears with a quartet at the Club Brasserie in the Bel Age Hotel Thursday through March 7, is well-known in New York jazz circles but is seen only infrequently on the West Coast. Snidero makes occasional visits here as a member of the Toshiko Akiyoshi Jazz Orchestra but has made only two Southern California appearances under his own name.

For the last two years, the 39-year-old Snidero has been a member of the Mingus Big Band that plays Manhattan’s the Fez club every Thursday. He’s frequently seen as a member of keyboardist Eddie Palmieri’s New York band and he toured with Frank Sinatra’s orchestra for four years in the early ‘90s. He’s recorded as a sideman with Sinatra as well as trumpeter Brian Lynch, trombonist Conrad Herwig and saxophonist Walt Weiskopf.

His own albums, some 10 in number, have included such players as pianists Mulgrew Miller and Benny Green and trumpeter Tom Harrell and were released for such import labels as Criss Cross, Red Records and Japan’s EMI/Toshiba. His latest, “Standards Plus” with pianist Mike LeDonne, bassist Dennis Irwin and drummer Kenny Washington (Double-Time), showcases his especially fluid way with the horn.

“Sound is the most important thing to me,” Snidero says of his work. “I want it to sound as deep and convincing as possible when I play.”

Snidero, who’ll work here with pianist Billy Childs, bassist Darek Oles and drummer Joe LaBarbera, is the author of an instructional series on jazz and will be presenting workshops at USC and eight area high schools during his West Coast visit. Club Brasserie information: (310) 358-7776.

Herman Benefit: Rosemary Clooney, the Bill Berry L.A. Big Band, Jack Sheldon, Ross Tompkins, Tommy Newsom and others are all scheduled to appear at “An Afternoon With Woody Herman,” a benefit to collect money for the medical expenses of Herman’s daughter, Ingrid Herman; to be held at the Musicians Union, 817 N. Vine St., Hollywood, Sunday, 1 to 6 p.m. The Woody Herman Band directed by Stew Jackson is also on the bill. Suggested donation: $15. (213) 467-7341.

Latin Sounds: Poncho Sanchez will open a new Latin-jazz concert series Thursday at the Twin Palms Restaurant in Pasadena and next Friday at the Twin Palms in Newport Beach. Also in the series are Eddie Palmieri March 12 and 13 and Pete Escovedo March 19 and 20. Information: (818) 577-2567.