Old Favorites

Mat Marucci, the crack 54-year-old drummer who left the climes of Los Angeles about a decade ago for a quieter lifestyle in Sacramento, plans to keep things simple when he performs during a visit to his old haunts.

He has picked longtime friends, or at least tried to, and tonight, at Jax in Glendale, will play mostly tunes that everyone knows.

“I’ve learned from working over the years that it’s not too good to do mostly originals,” said Marucci, who has played with such notables as organist Jimmy Smith and saxophonists Eddie Harris and John Tchichi. “Give people something they recognize, like standards.

“When you perform a standard, people have heard the tune, so they can tell how you really play,” said Marucci, who names Elvin Jones, Tony Williams and Jimmy Cobb as influences.

“And for the players, doing a standard gives us the opportunity to do something different with a classic tune--put a personal stamp on it.”

Marucci said he’ll also pull out a few of his originals at Jax, where he’ll work with an all-star quartet including saxophonist Doug Webb, pianist Christian Jacob and bassist Christoph Luty.

“I’m not a great writer, but I have a few that will challenge the guys,” said the drummer, whose latest album, “Ulterior Motifs,” features the outstanding Webb.

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DETAILS

Mat Marucci plays tonight, 9 p.m. to 1:30 a.m., at Jax, 339 N. Brand Blvd., Glendale. No cover, no minimum. Call: (818) 500-1604.

In Brief: Keyboardist Greg Mathieson, guitarist Michael Landau, bassist Abraham Laboriel and drummer Vinnie Colaiuta represent at least one version of jazz-fusion heaven. Hear them Saturday, at 9 and 11 p.m., at the Baked Potato, 3787 Cahuenga Blvd., North Hollywood; $15 in advance, $20 at the door, two-drink minimum; (818) 980-1615.

Pamala Feener just keeps singing better and better. Catch her feeling-filled versions of pop and jazz standards on Wednesday, 7 to 11 p.m., at Monteleone’s West, 19337 Ventura Blvd., Tarzana; no cover; without dinner, $9.95 food/drink minimum; (818) 996-0662.

Drummer Peter Erskine, bassist Dave Carpenter and pianist Alan Pasqua celebrate the release of their CD, “Live at Rocco,” with what should be a sizzling performance on Wednesday, 9:30 p.m. to 12:30 a.m., at, you guessed it, Rocco Ristorante, 2930 Beverly Glen Circle, Bel-Air; $15 cover includes CD, no minimum; (310) 475-9807. On Thursday, same time and place, but with no cover, hear the heartily swinging pianist Jon Mayer and his trio.

Zan Stewart writes about jazz for the Valley Edition. He can be reached at Zansky@aol.com.