Jazz Jewels

What makes a good jazz club?

The obvious answer is “good jazz.” But it’s an answer that misses the point in a region filled with far more good jazz than even the existing venues can handle. New York City excepted, Los Angeles has as many first-class players as any other place on the globe. And it continues to be a necessary destination for many nationally touring performers.

Still, granting the consistently high quality of the music available in Southern California, there are differences among the places in which it is performed--

differences in terms of musical style, bookings, setting, attitude, price and location. Each room has its own unique qualities, its own personal listening ambience. So here is a descriptive, highly selective list of the Southland’s 10 most interesting jazz rooms.

The Best Pure Jazz Club: With its classic jazz club stylings, Catalina Bar & Grill has all the attributes of a classic jazz bistro. Situated in a slightly seedy area of Hollywood but remodeled in August to improve both the sight lines and the sound, it has the feeling of a large, warm club room. What makes it the premier Los Angeles jazz club, however, is its bookings, which consistently bring in such major jazz names as Dianne Reeves, Joe Zawinul, Pharoah Sanders, Roy Hargrove, Branford Marsalis, Joshua Redman, etc. The Heath Brothers--saxophonist Jimmy, bassist (and Modern Jazz Quartet regular) Percy and drummer Albert “Tootie” (who also joined the MJQ in 1995)--are performing this weekend, followed by pianist Gene Harris on Tuesday and drummer Jack DeJohnette on Feb. 4.

Equally important, Catalina’s cachet as a venue favored by talented artists tends to create a generally respectful listening environment. Service is discreet while performers are playing, and it’s a rare evening when a noisy table intrudes on the music. And, unlike many classic jazz clubs, Catalina has an excellent kitchen--supervised by owner Catalina Popescu--with a basic but well-prepared cuisine dominated by fresh greens, pastas and seafood.

The Best Concert-Style Jazz Club: Initially based in a small room in the Helms Bakery building, the Jazz Bakery moved a few years ago to a much larger room in the Helms building.

Singer Ruth Price, who has directed the club--actually a nonprofit organization--since the beginning, chose the inherent financial problems of a concert venue rather than the income-producing setting of a restaurant and bar. But musicians seem to favor the opportunity to perform before a seated, nondrinking audience, and many listeners like the idea of paying a flat-fee ticket price without having to worry about buying a minimum amount of food or drinks.

The Bakery has generally matched Catalina in the high level of its bookings. Recent performers include Cyrus Chestnut, Bob Dorough, Joe Henderson, Chuck Mangione, Marsalis, Joe Lovano, etc.

This weekend legendary English pianist George Shearing is appearing with bassist Neil Swainson, followed on Tuesday by emerging young jazz stars Don Braden, tenor saxophone, and Dominique Eade, singer.

The Best Jazz Room With a View: Situated on the south side of the Bel Age Hotel, just off the Sunset Strip, Club Brasserie’s window wall looks out on the vista of the Los Angeles basin. At night, when jazz groups are performing, the city lights provide a panorama reminiscent of the view from a Manhattan high-rise.

This attractive room has until recently tended to focus on first-rate local acts. But in the last month or two, nationally known performers like saxophonist Greg Osby and pianist Brad Mehldau have appeared, strengthening the quality of the programming.

It’s already one of the city’s most pleasant places to hear jazz, and the combination of enhanced bookings, a good location and an elegant setting give the Brasserie the potential to become a significant jazz venue.

Mehldau is back at the Club Brasserie tonight with the Richie Vitale Quintet, followed by pianist Bobby Lyle’s Trio on the weekend and bassist Buddy Montgomery’s group next Friday and Saturday.

The Best Art Deco Setting for Big-Band Jazz: It used to be called the Moonlight Tango, and the change to simply the Moonlight hasn’t changed the Sherman Oaks club’s policy of bringing in some of the area’s finest large jazz ensembles every Tuesday night.

Bill Holman, Anthony Wilson, Frank Capp, Gregg Field and Mike Barone have all brought their bands into the Moonlight’s urbane, ‘40s-revisited environs. Last week, trumpeter Louise Baranger appeared, leading a hard-swinging 10-piece band. Next week, two-time Emmy Award winner and 12-time Grammy nominee Bob Florence appears with his scintillating orchestrations and his roaring Limited Edition Big Band.

On other nights at Moonlight, owner Lenetta Kidd features swing music by the Pat Tuzzolino Swing Band, the Zoot Swing Band and the Moonlight Swingers, occasionally stepping to the microphone to add her own upbeat vocals to the entertaining mix of nostalgic rhythms.

The Best Club to Hear Jazz in Orange County: When it opened in Fullerton in 1993, Steamers rapidly established itself as the premier jazz venue in an area that previously had offered little in the way of top-drawer improvisational music.

Owned and run by musician Terence Love, who proudly displays his state-of-the-art sound system, the room features seven nights a week of music performed by high-level locally based talent.

Recent bookings, for example, included pianists Cecilia Coleman and Jane Getz, singers Stephanie Haynes and Sweet Baby Jai, tenor saxophonist Bob Sheppard and the Estrada Brothers and Poncho Sanchez Latin jazz bands.

Tonight, pianist Christian Jacob brings in a trio, followed Friday night by pianist Jon Mayer’s Trio with saxophonist Ernie Watts and on Sunday by the Bobby Redfield Latin Jazz Band.

The Best Place for Jazz Vocals: It can be noisy and crowded, it can be quiet and intimate, but Ca’ Del Sole has the most consistent schedule of jazz singing in town.

Any given month at the North Hollywood Italian restaurant is likely to showcase Cathy Segal-Garcia, Dewey Erney, Stephanie Haynes or Julie Kelly--all first-rate jazz-based vocalists. Enhancing the quality of the music, some of the accompanying pianists who perform regularly at Ca’ Del Sole are such fine artists in their own right as Marty Harris, Dave MacKay, Karen Hammack and Bill Cunliffe.

Food fans will also be pleased by the appealing menu of North Italian cuisine. Segal-Garcia appears tonight and Saturday, with Erney singing tomorrow night.

The Best New Talent Jazz Performance Space: The World Stage is actually a storefront in the Leimert Park area, but it’s the place to hear unknown, still-growing young players who may well have a shot at becoming the next generation’s important artists.

Established by noted jazz drummer Billy Higgins nearly a decade ago, the World Stage has evolved into an important community center for jazz education and performance. Regular musical events include a Monday night drum workshop and a Thursday night jam session.

Friday and Saturday nights are devoted to performances by groups. On any given evening, however, a surprise guest such as Barry Harris or Kenny Barron is likely to make an appearance. Trumpeter Art Farmer, for example, will reportedly show up later this spring for one or two sets.

The Best Jazz Club Hangout: The feeling at Chadney’s, just down the street from NBC in Burbank, is partly that of a relaxed, neighborhood bar, partly the crowded closeness of a bebop-era 52nd Street jazz club in New York.

The acts that appear at the room are eclectic, from guitarist Phil Upchurch’s blues to bassist Jennifer York’s contemporary jazz and trombonist Bill Watrous’ mainstream.

Tonight, singer Ann Farnsworth’s Trio performs, followed Friday night by singer Tony Russell and on Saturday by percussionist Ray Armando’s Quintet.

The Best Club for Latin Jazz: La Ve Lee is small and crowded, situated on Ventura Boulevard in a quiet section of Studio City. Neither the most visually attractive nor the most physically comfortable jazz room, it makes up for its ugly-duckling qualities with a consistently engaging program of Latin jazz.

Percussionist Poncho Sanchez, pianist Freddie Ravel and drummer Teri Lynn Carrington are regulars. Guitarist Frank Gambale plays tonight, followed by Sanchez on Friday night and Ravel on Saturday.

The Best Place to Eat Spuds and Hear Jazz: A virtual relic of the times when jazz clubs were expected to be small, dark, crowded and a little bit funky, the Baked Potato, with its poster-covered walls, cramped seating and tiny stage, is reminiscent of the East Village performance spaces of the ‘60s and ‘70s. Inside, however, with the musicians close enough to touch, the sheer intimacy of the room creates a bonding sort of interaction between performers and listeners.

The Baked Potato has been home to every imaginable kind of jazz over the years, but the current lineups tend toward the contemporary. Last week, for example, Andy Summers, formerly of the Police, appeared.

On Wednesdays, the club is home to keyboardist Jon Beasley’s all-star group, featuring saxophonist Steve Tavaglione. Justin Randi performs tonight with his group, Nothin’ Personal; Summers returns on Friday and guitarist Steve Lukather appears on Saturday.

Upcoming bookings include the group Niacin with drummer Dennis Chambers on Wednesday and Jan. 30 and Band From Utopia, the original Frank Zappa band, on Jan. 31 and Feb. 1.

BE THERE

Catalina Bar & Grill, 1640 N. Cahuenga Blvd., Hollywood, (213) 466-2210.

Jazz Bakery, 3233 Helms Ave., Culver City, (310) 271-9039.

Club Brasserie (Wyndham Bel Age Hotel), 1020 N. San Vicente Blvd., West Hollywood, (310) 358-7776.

Steamers, 138 W. Commonwealth Ave., Fullerton, (714) 871-8800.

The Moonlight, 13730 Ventura Blvd., Sherman Oaks, (818) 788-2000.

Ca’ Del Sole, 4100 Cahuenga Blvd., North Hollywood, (818) 985-4669.

The World Stage, 4344 Degnan Ave., Los Angeles, ((213) 293-2451.

Chadney’s, 3000 West Olive Ave., Burbank, (818) 843-5333.

La Ve Lee, 12514 Ventura Blvd., Studio City, (818) 980-8158.

The Baked Potato, 3787 Cahuenga Blvd., North Hollywood, (818) 980-1615.

* IT’S GOT THAT SWING: The Coconut Club, a new supper club that features big bands, returns L.A. to the days of swing music and touch dancing. Page 8