His Holiday Horn of Plenty

It’s been five years since Bobby Rodriguez kicked off his annual “Latin Jazz Christmas” shows. And the image of the smiling trumpeter, Santa Claus hat perched on his head, has become one of the warm and fuzzy announcements that the holiday season is upon us.

Saturday night, at Cal State L.A.’s Luckman Complex, Rodriguez and his big band will once again entertain an audience of all ages with a collection of Christmas music ranging across genres, styles and cultures.

“We have gone,” says Rodriguez, “from the seven-piece ensemble that we started out with to a full-sized big band. And our selection of numbers keeps growing every year.”

How, one might ask, can new and improved Christmas productions be created? How many different ways can there be to celebrate the season?

“Oh, I start absolutely fresh every year,” Rodriguez says. “As soon as we finish the show, I’ll sit there in the empty theater, look at the stage and ask myself, ‘OK, what do I want to see here next year?’ And I’ll envision it in my head.”

Essential to that vision is Rodriguez’s view of Christmas as a holiday unrestricted by any individual religious consideration.

“I think of Christmas,” he says, “as an all-inclusive celebration that brings to the fore all the right elements of emotion: tenderness, caring, thoughtfulness, consideration. These are things that I think tend to be forgotten in our daily routines. That’s one of the reasons why I think it’s so important to involve children in our Christmas shows. Because they bring the element of purity and innocence, not just commercialism. And that’s what I want to hold on to, especially in this very unusual Christmas year.”

The “Latin Jazz Christmas” program is an important element in Rodriguez’s workmanlike approach to his career. One of the Southland’s busiest trumpet players, he appears frequently with his own and other leaders’ small groups, as well as in the brass section of the high-visibility Clayton-Hamilton Jazz Orchestra. Unlike some jazz artists, however, he believes that communication is as important as individual expression in his music.

“The biggest problem, I feel, that jazz music has today,” he says, “is that it still relates to the audience of the ‘70s. It has very little connection to a younger audience that is totally aware of visual media--MTV, for example. And this is a tremendous problem for mainstream jazz.

“The entertainment factor has been totally neglected, and that actually began when Charlie Parker came into the forefront in the ‘40s and ‘50s. We have to keep the musicality, of course. But we also need to remember that music is centered around entertainment. That’s why people have always come out, sometimes to dance to it, but always to be entertained. And that’s what I try to give back--in the ‘Latin Jazz’ shows, as well as all of my other gigs.”

Rodriguez, 51, attributes his belief in the importance of professionalism and communication in his work to his 12-year marriage to his wife, Yvonne. His partner in all respects, she works on the production of the “Latin Jazz Christmas Show,” has built and manages his Web site, and even plays hand percussion in his ensembles.

He also praises his parents, both of Mexican descent, for urging him to make the most of his abilities. (“Even though,” he says with a laugh, “my mother really wanted me to become a lawyer or an accountant.”)

“What I learned,” he adds, “from Yvonne, as well as my parents, is that nothing much is going to happen if I sit around waiting for the phone to ring. I’ll play with other groups, of course, and enjoy it, but my brain is always ticking with my own ideas--toward being a leader, a producer, toward entrepreneurial musicianship. Because these days you have be the producer, the salesperson, the pitchman, the musician. You have to do the Muhammad Ali shuffle. Go out there and sell, get sponsors, create a buzz where there was none before.”

That may not sound like typical jazz musician talk. But it represents a game plan that more artists may well have to take into consideration. Rodriguez is quick to underscore his belief, however, that creating a buzz can only work within an environment of honest musical communication.

“When you come to see me,” he says, “you’re going to get a lot of trumpet; you’re going to get someone who cares about playing the instrument; and you’re going to get someone who cares about you as a member of the audience. I want to interact; I want to talk to you; I want you to get to know me.

“To me,” Rodriguez says, “the relationship between me and my audience is a long-term relationship. It’s not a one-nighter; it’s not a quickie. I want them to know me; I want them to be my friends. Because this is what life and music are about for me: to see friends out there in my audience whenever I perform.”

The Bobby Rodriguez “Latin Jazz Christmas Show,” Saturday at 8 p.m., Luckman Fine Arts Complex, 5151 State University Drive, L.A. (323) 343-6600. Tickets $22.50, $27.50 and $32.50.

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Jazzing In the New Year: It’s only three weeks until the turn of the new year, and the Southland’s jazz spots have once again come up with a cornucopia of celebratory possibilities. Here’s what’s at the top of my list (maybe I’ll just stop by all of them):

* Catalina Bar & Grill. Rapidly rising young jazz vocal star Jane Monheit will top off a week’s run with a night of musical revelry. $125 per person, including a four-course dinner and champagne for midnight. Seating from 7:30 p.m., sets from 9 p.m. 1640 N. Cahuenga Blvd., Hollywood. (323) 466-2210.

* Jazz Bakery. The Bakery’s evening is described as “a down-home celebration with the irresistible Les McCann.” Irresistible and inimitable, I’d say, because there’s no one quite like the amiable and entertaining soul jazz maestro. There will be two shows: 8:30 and 10:30 p.m., with hors d’oeuvres, champagne, wine, coffee and sweets all night. $75 per person for each show; $110 per person for the entire evening. 3233 Helms Ave., Culver City. (310) 271-9039.

* Spazio. Legendary Central Avenue bebop great Teddy Edwards, with singer Spanky Wilson and the Tom Ranier Trio. Music from 9:30 p.m. to 1:30 a.m. $95 per person, including five-course dinner; $30 per person non-dinner admittance (bar area after 11 p.m.). 14755 Ventura Blvd., Sherman Oaks. (818) 728-8400.

* Hollywood Park Casino, Finish Line Lounge. An intimate evening with Barbara Morrison. From 7 p.m. $125 per person (meal included), $75 per person (meal not included). (323) 937-9066.

* Westin Long Beach. And let’s not forget that Bobby Rodriguez’s holiday season continues with an appearance with his smaller ensemble at the Grill in the Westin. Dinner and dancing, $189 per couple plus tax and gratuity for a four-course champagne dinner. Music from 9 p.m. to 1 a.m. Dinner service starts at 6 p.m.; last serving at 10 p.m. (562) 499-2060.