Norman Puts Stock in His 10-Piece Band

What’s the secret to leading a 10-piece jazz band? To playing the kind of music you want to play, when you want to play it, and getting to stand up and take a solo from time to time?

Tenor saxophonist Phil Norman has the answer: Subsidize it yourself.

And that’s exactly what he has been doing with his group, the Phil Norman Tentet. Norman, who uses his middle, rather than his surname--Gainsborough--for his musical activities, is the founder and CEO of Associated Financial Group, a highly successful financial services company. But despite a 30-year hiatus from playing, he never lost his love of music.

“I was a teenager when West Coast jazz was happening in the ‘50s,” he says, “and Gerry Mulligan, Shorty Rogers, Dave Brubeck--musicians like that--were my idols. So, a few years ago, when I decided to start playing my tenor saxophone again, cool, West Coast jazz was the kind of music I wanted to play. And I was surprised to see that there wasn’t very much of it around.”

Norman organized a 10-piece ensemble using such solid players as pianists Bob Florence and drummer Frank Capp (both bandleaders in their own right), trumpeters Ron Stout and Carl Saunders, saxophonist Bill Perkins and guitarist Dave Koonse. He assembled a set of arrangements by Florence, Tom Kubis and Roger Neumann and began to book the Tentet in venues such as Catalina, the Moonlight and Lunaria.

“Sure, I have to supplement what we make on most of the gigs to pay the musicians what they should be making,” says Norman. “And I don’t take anything for myself, but it’s worth it to have the opportunity to play this kind of music with this kind of players.”

How does Norman balance a full day of dealing with stocks and bonds with an evening of making music?

“That’s what one of the musicians asked me the other night,” replies Norman. “He said, ‘What does your wife think of all this? Here you are, you can do almost anything you want, and you’re out at a nightclub, after midnight, playing with a bunch of musicians.’ I told him, ‘Well, all she says is I shouldn’t give up my day job.’

“And then, at that point, the bass player popped in with, ‘Yeah, well, my wife says I should get a day job!’ ”

* The Phil Norman Tentet at Lunaria, 10351 Santa Monica Blvd., tonight. (310) 282-8870. No cover.

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Saxophone Conclave: Santa Monica will be buzzing with the sound of saxophones on the weekend of Jan. 24 and 25, when the West Coast Jazz Saxophone Conclave presents its second annual event. The two-day program features a series of clinics covering every aspect of saxophone playing, from bebop, blues and rock to “Advanced Post-Coltrane Improvisation,” sight-reading and--significantly--”Self-Marketing.” Saxophonist Bruce Eskovitz, who produces the conclave, has once again assembled an all-star faculty that includes Eskovitz, Pete Christlieb, Bob Sheppard, Herman Riley, Ernie Watts, Walt Weiskopf, Thom Mason and Buddy Collette.

Enrollment is open to all levels of players, and the cost is $195. Tuition covers all clinics and master classes, admission to Saturday night faculty concerts and a Sunday night student-faculty jam session, two breakfasts and lunches and all program materials. Saturday night’s concerts, at 8 and 10 p.m., and Sunday’s concert, at 8 p.m., are open to the public at $20 per ticket. The conclave and the concerts take place at the Crossroads School, 1714 21st St. Info: (310) 446-1931, or on the World Wide Web at www.promote.net/-jazzsax98

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School Jazz: The Southland’s burgeoning activities in the jazz education arena will be bursting out all over the place this weekend with activities such as these:

* “Jazzin’ at the Prep,” on Saturday afternoon at Washington Preparatory High School, is the institution’s fifth annual fund-raising concert, commemorating the life of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. with a presentation of jazz and blues. Among the artists scheduled to appear are Buddy Collette, Barbara Morrison, Billy Higgins, Jackson Blue, Ernie Andrews, Tom Scott and Linda Hopkins.

The school’s highly praised music programs, directed by Fernando Pullum, have received a long list of competitive awards. But the real evidence of the programs’ effectiveness, according to Pullum, rests in the fact that, “For the last four years, every graduating band member has gone on to college.”

* “Jazzin’ at the Prep” at Washington Preparatory High School, 10860 S. Denker Ave., Los Angeles. Saturday, 12:30-5 p.m. Info: (213) 757-9281. Tickets $10-$25 for adults; $5 for students.

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* The World Stage Jazz Institute begins its spring session Saturday, continuing every Saturday through May 23 under the direction of Billy Higgins. The institute’s guest instructors have included Harold Land, Herman Riley, Carl Burnett and Leslie Drayton, among others. Pianist Barry Harris, who presented workshops in 1997, is expected to return this spring. The institute’s teaching program ranges from harmony, ear training and improvisation to ensemble performance, jazz history and orchestration.

There is a registration charge of $25, but no tuition charge at the institute. Project director Michael O’Daniel reports, however, that the registration fee will be waived “for anyone who absolutely cannot afford it.” And enrollment is open throughout the spring session.

* The World Stage Jazz Institute at the World Stage, 4344 Degnan Blvd., Los Angeles. Info: (213) 957-5113.

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* The Young Artists Jazz Series opens its 1998 season Sunday afternoon with a performance by the Los Angeles County High School for the Arts Vocal Jazz Group at Catalina Bar & Grill. In September, the Vocal Jazz Group placed first in the high school category at the Monterey Jazz Festival Competition. Sunday’s program, which is sponsored by the Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz, will be the first in a monthly series of events at the venue featuring talented young Southland jazz artists.

* The Los Angeles County High School for the Arts Vocal Jazz Group at Catalina Bar & Grill, Sunday, 12:30-3 p.m. No cover charge. Info: (818) 905-4692.