From Latin Beat to Russian Groove at Upcoming Festivals

It’ll take a bit of doing to make all the stops--a private helicopter would help--but there’s enough jazz festival action taking place over the next week to satisfy the most avid fans.

Tonight, for example, the Monterey Jazz Festival (presented by MCI WorldCom) kicks off its 42nd installment, one of the world’s longest-running uninterrupted series of jazz concerts. Opening night is dedicated for the most part to Latin jazz, with performances on the large Jimmy Lyons Stage by the Chucho Valdes Quintet, the Poncho Sanchez Latin-Jazz Band and Los Van Van. The five smaller Ground Stages will showcase, among others, the Terence Blanchard Sextet, the Anton Schwartz Quartet and the Russell Malone Quartet.

Not a bad opening, but just the start of a three-day musical extravaganza that also features Ruth Brown, Diana Krall, the Smithsonian Jazz Masterworks Orchestra, Regina Carter, Kenny Barron, Clark Terry, the Manhattan Transfer, the Joshua Redman Band, Medeski, Martin & Wood and numerous other artists. And, as always, the friendly ambience, the vendors, the boutiques and the food stands are as much a part of the Monterey Jazz Festival experience as the music itself.

* The Monterey Jazz Festival takes place at the Monterey County Fairgrounds. Performances in the Jimmy Lyons Stage are sold out. Some Grounds Passes, which allow access to all other venues, are still available. Grounds Pass prices: Today, $30; Saturday and Sunday, $37. Three-day Grounds Pass, $84. (925) 275-9255.

Saturday and Sunday--and here’s where that helicopter would be useful--there’s a Latin jazz event in downtown Los Angeles that considerably expands on Monterey’s opening night. The third annual Con Ritmo y Sabor Latin Jazz Festival ’99 opens Saturday at the Watercourt at the California Plaza with an extraordinary lineup: the Chucho Valdes Quintet (fresh in from Monterey), Manny Oquendo and Orquestra Libre, and the Buena Vista Social Club’s Eliades Ochoa. In addition, pianist Lalo Schifrin and his big band will present the U.S. premiere of his “Latin Jazz Suite.”

And it doesn’t stop there. On Sunday, the program features Tito Puente and His Latin Jazz Ensemble, Eddie Palmieri and his orchestra and the David Sanchez Quintet. On both days, the All City Latin Jazz Student Ensemble also will perform.

The weekend will also see the induction of Puente, Palmieri, Valdes and Schifrin into the Latin Jazz Hall of Fame, joining previous recipients Mongo Santamaria and Cachao. Each will receive a sculpture designed by Robert Graham, sculptor of both the Duke Ellington and Charlie Parker memorial works.

* The third annual Con Ritmo y Sabor Latin Jazz Festival, Saturday and Sunday at the Watercourt in the California Plaza, 300-350 S. Grand Ave. Ticket prices: $50 for a one-day pass, $75 for a two-day pass, general seating. $16 for a one-day pass, $25 for a two-day pass, standing only. VIP seats, including admission to a special reception area, are $120. (213) 480-3232.

That helicopter will be useful next week, as well, when the 11th annual Santa Barbara International Jazz Festival runs from Monday through Sept. 26. This is a far-reaching event that takes place at venues around Santa Barbara, from the Lobero Theatre and the Soho Jazz Club to Leadbetter Beach.

As with the other festivals, Latin jazz plays a prominent role. On Sept. 25, at the event’s picturesque Leadbetter Beach setting, in a program that runs from 11:30 a.m. to 6 p.m., Puente, Schifrin and Ochoa turn up once again. Additional performers include Cecelia Noel, Francisco Aguabella, Teka and the Estrada Bros.

The Sept. 26 concert, also at Leadbetter, headlines Mose Allison, Les McCann, Bill Berry, Barbara Morrison and others. Among other high points are three consecutive nights (Thursday, Friday and Saturday) featuring first-rate guitarists--Mike Stern, Kenny Burrell and Joyce Cooling. But the most offbeat and intriguing appearances take place on Wednesday at the Lobero Theatre in a program devoted to Russian jazz. The performers include the much-heralded Moscow pianist Igor Brill and the remarkable teenage band the Moskats. (Brill and the Moskats also make a one-night appearance in Los Angeles at Catalina Bar & Grill on Sept. 27.)

* The 11th annual Santa Barbara International Jazz Festival, Monday through Sept. 26 at locations around Santa Barbara. Ticket prices range from $15 to $75 for individual events, from $90 to $270 for series. (805) 963-0761.

Record Track: The Avenue Jazz Record Group has acquired the catalog of Bethlehem Records--a collection of music that includes some of the finest jazz performances of the ‘50s. Among the many artists represented are Art Blakey, Charles Mingus, Jack Teagarden, Howard McGhee and Duke Ellington. The company’s plan to issue more than 200 titles under the banner Bethlehem Archives / Avenue Jazz kicks off Tuesday with the release of a two-CD boxed-set version of the 1956 all-star recording of “Porgy and Bess.” Featured performers are Mel Torme, Frances Faye, Johnny Hartman, Betty Roche, Bob Dorough and others. Other releases will follow at the rate of two per month.