Coconut Club Bringing Back the Glory Days of Nightclubs

Can Merv Griffin bring back the nightclub glories of the ‘40s? Of dinner dancing to music with a sneaky undercurrent of jazz?

Maybe yes, if the packed floor at the sizzling opening night of his new Coconut Club in the Beverly Hilton Hotel was--as it seemed to be--an indication that there is a substantial audience ready to spend an evening dining and dancing to first-rate big-band music.

It helped that the music--after an opening set of Latin tunes--was provided by trumpeter Jack Sheldon’s talented 16-piece band. Playing charts by Tom Talbert, interspersed with a few big-band classics, Sheldon led his players in music that managed to balance infectiously danceable rhythms with some solid jazz soloing.

Sheldon, the music director for Griffin’s television shows of the ‘70s and ‘80s, was his usual wry self, cracking outrageous jokes and puns, interacting with the celebrity-filled crowd. Though better known to some as a humorist, he has a solid jazz heritage that enlivened his few solos (managed, despite the difficulty of having his broken left arm in a cast).

At first glance, the Coconut Club seems to be the right room at the right time, with a central location, attractive music and a playful setting that takes a colorful glance back at such famous supper clubs as the Mocambo and the Cocoanut Grove. Although it will be open only on Friday and Saturday nights, the Coconut Club becomes, instantly, one of the Southland’s most appealing nighttime destinations.

* Jack Sheldon and his band at the Coconut Club at the Beverly Hilton, 9876 Wilshire Blvd., Beverly Hills. Fridays and Saturdays, 7:30 p.m. to 2 a.m. $20 cover, which includes one drink. (310) 285-1358.