Musicians’ Bash: All-You-Can-Hear Buffet

Where can you bounce between rooms filled with the sounds of big band and country, swingin’ jazz and chamber music, a steel drum ensemble and a Dixieland band?

At Bash ‘98, the Orange County Musicians’ Assn. festival, that’s where. This 27th annual fund-raiser, benefiting the organization’s emergency relief fund and scholarship programs, will be held Sunday at the Doubletree Hotel Orange County Airport. There, 389 musicians will play on six different bandstands.

The Bash is a wonderful place to see musicians of all sorts. Take the kids--12 and younger are admitted free--for a real education as they watch trumpeters pucker, violinists bowing, singers wailing and drummers flailing. Such performances are sure to inspire future musicians.

With 10 hours of continuous music at various sites in the hotel, it will be easy to miss favorites. So here are some recommendations, with an emphasis on jazz, to guide you to some of the highlights. But don’t fret, the quality of musicianship here is so consistently professional that you can’t go wrong no matter where you end up.

The day’s big moment comes at 8 p.m., when this year’s grand marshall, Kay Starr, and her musical director Buddy Freed join up with the Frank Amoss Orchestra in the big band room. They’ll serve up such Starr classics as “Side by Side” and “Wheel of Fortune.” The big band room, with its massive dance floor, will be jumping all day. The Sy Zentner Orchestra will feature saxophonists Ann Patterson and Tom Kubis at 6:30 p.m. At 2 p.m., the Bill Tole Orchestra will showcase trumpeter Art DePew and saxophonist Roger Neumann.

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In the classical room, the well-traveled duo of saxophonist Leo Potts and pianist Jack Reidling will play at 4 p.m. With a daylong program of brass ensembles and string groups, the classical room also features Lew Steadman’s performance at 8 p.m. on the Theremin, a low-tech electronic instrument that added those creepy effects to ‘50s era movies.

The jazz room hosts a continuous string of favorites, including Jim and Martha Hession’s Great American Jazz Quintet at 1:15 p.m., vocalist Stephanie Haynes at 2:30 p.m., guitarist Bobby Redfield’s Latin Jazz Band at 3:45 p.m. and vivacious singer Karen Gallinger with pianist Reidling at 5 p.m. Seven string guitar whiz Ron Eschete plays solo at 6:15 p.m.

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Also at 6 p.m., this time in the Dixieland room, Bob White’s Hyperion Outfall Serenaders start makin’ whoopee, while in the swing, vocal jazz and blues room, Joe Nappa’s R&B-minded; All Stars strike up. The eclectic Trinidad & Tobago Steel Orchestra follows Nappa’s band there at 8 p.m.

And you fans of the Buck Owens-Hank Williams school of country music will want to check out Kevin Banford and the Bakersfield Boys in the country-western room at 6 p.m. Had enough? Well there’s more still. Remember, this is a working musicians bash, so they’re playing the schedule by ear--all times are approximate and subject to change.

* Orange County Musicians’ Assn. Bash ‘98, Doubletree Hotel Orange County Airport, 3050 Bristol St., Costa Mesa. Noon-10 p.m. Sunday. $27, children 12 and younger admitted free. (714) 546-8166.