With jazz that swings and steaks that sizzle

Time slows as the bass player picks out a trail of notes and the piano follows like a frisky dog out for walk, running off, coming back, circling around the old standard, until it settles down and walks alongside the bass and drums.

It’s been a long day, but here, cosseted in a high-backed banquette at Vibrato, a new grill and jazz lounge at the top of Beverly Glen, I’m contentedly listening to cool West Coast jazz as I wait for friends -- no hurry -- to join me for dinner.

The club, founded by trumpeter and record company mogul Herb Alpert and Pasadena restaurateurs Bob and Gregg Smith (of Parkway Grill, Arroyo Chop House, Smitty’s and the Crocodile Cafes), has a distinctly urban vibe. Designed by Clodagh, the Irish-born New York designer who goes by just one name, it’s as chic and contemporary as anything in a shelter magazine. The blond wood walls have a subtle plait of dark and light. A fire burns in a fawn-colored stucco fireplace in the corner, and a fleet of accent lamps glows like fireflies in the semi-darkness.

So what’s this club doing tucked in a pokey shopping center next to a lingerie shop and Pets of Bel-Air?

Though there’s parking galore in the lot, a valet stands at attention in front of the restaurant. The exterior is lighted up like Las Vegas, and near the entrance, a few reprobates are sneaking a smoke.

At the massive wood and granite bar, a handful of music buffs are already settled in beneath bronze busts of Satchmo, trombonist Tyree Glenn and clarinetist Barney Bigard, blowing their horns overhead like angels at the pearly gates.

Most jazz clubs are somewhat seedy -- that’s part of the appeal. This one, though, has a kind of uptown glamour, with three rows of tables arranged in a horseshoe around the stage. The sound system is first rate, and the stage could even be called elegant. The musicians are silhouetted against a burnt orange stucco wall, bathed in the warm light bouncing off giant copper half-spheres hung from the ceiling. Upstairs are more tables and private rooms that look down on the scene.

I watch as the hostess leads my friends across the room. Their eyes are shining. I didn’t mention the destination was a jazz club. They both love music and I knew they’d enjoy the surprise of finding Vibrato in this oddball location not far from Mulholland Drive. We still want to visit and even with the music, it seems quieter in this room than in any number of earsplitting restaurants I could name. So you can talk. Or not. Whatever you feel like.

Despite little or no publicity, jazz aficionados have been showing up in droves. The first time I called for a reservation, every weekend night I asked for was already fully booked, Madam, so I tried a weeknight instead. Much easier, but still difficult at the last minute. Vibrato features live music every night, and except for big-name musicians, it’s mostly no cover charge.

With the Smith brothers involved and a chef from Nick & Stef’s downtown steakhouse, the chophouse menu is a natural. And though chef Sharon Funt has fancied up some of the dishes, the best strategy here is the simpler the better.

That means oysters on the half shell, which are sometimes available in three or four varieties, including Fanny Bay from the Northwest, Wellfleet from Massachusetts, and Malpeques from Nova Scotia. They arrive icy and slippery, ready to wash down with a gulp of Pouilly-Fume or Bordeaux blanc.

Though there is a pretty good wine list, at least for a jazz club, with choices from California, France, Italy and further afield, most people are drinking cocktails Rat Pack style, not blue or green martinis. Here it’s vodka martinis, straight up, with an olive, or else tumblers of Scotch or Bourbon.

Don’t let anyone talk you into ordering the garlic bread. Some things should be allowed to fade away, and this greasy travesty is one of them. Warm tomato toast doused in truffle oil should be consigned to oblivion as well.

Better to munch on the delicious skinny breadsticks with just the right crunch and level of salt.

The starting lineup

I don’t think I’ve ever seen short ribs on a menu as an appetizer before, and Vibrato’s is not at all a small portion. Order it anyway, or save it for a main course. These are tender and beefy, slicked with a chipotle barbecue sauce and served with a nice whole-grain mustard cole slaw.

Diver scallops on a doughy corncake are less successful than sliced citrus gravlax perched on potato knish. One night Spanish garlic prawns made a pleasant appetizer; another time they were overpowered by garlic and swimming in a dark, bitter sauce.

Thick milky slices of homemade mozzarella with pale out-of-season tomatoes would have been refreshing if this simple salad hadn’t been subjected to more truffle oil -- why? -- and on top of that, decorated with balsamic vinegar. The two do not belong on one dish and it’s questionable whether truffle oil belongs on any. Ever. Even the butter-lettuce salad, which could be lovely, is over-embellished with not only blue cheese (on top of green goddess dressing), but cherry tomatoes and at least a quarter-pound of bacon. Talk about gilding the lily.

As for main courses, steak is the way to go. They’re prime, maybe not the top prime, but decent enough and aged for 40 days. The best I tried was the Kansas City, a bone-in New York available on special, but the hanger steak and the Porterhouse are both reliable choices too. Lamb chops are double-cut, thick and tender, though not particularly lamby.

The prime choice

One night we all burst out laughing when the waiter set the halibut special down at one place and the pounded veal chop Parmigiana down next to it. The first looked like an appetizer; the latter was four or five times bigger. Basically it’s a veal pizza, with the pounded chop cooked to a crunch on the bottom and completely blanketed in red sauce and molten cheese, the kind of thing you’d expect to find in New York’s Little Italy. It grows on you, though. And I’d enjoy that more than the pallid little piece of halibut in pea sauce or a blackened lamb shank tagine in another dark, acrid sauce.

Sides, though numerous and often inventive, are a bit uneven. Glazed root vegetables, a medley of roasted turnips, parsnips, carrots and more, is a lovely idea. Braised spinach is good too, and although the concept is appealing, eggplant baklava seems out of place with the entrees.

Everybody loves half and half: cottage fries (more like thick potato chips) with a mess of fried onion rings heaped on top. But baked-potato fanciers can get their spud salt-roasted, which seems to produce a particularly fluffy interior. Here comes that garlic again in the potato gratin, made with an aged Cheddar, which may not be the best choice for this rich, gooey dish. A ragout of Israeli couscous and chickpeas is done in by a powerful dose of garlic. I love garlic, but someone in the kitchen has a very heavy hand.

As for desserts, the simpler ones are better than the more sophisticated-sounding choices. My favorite by far is a buttery warm bread pudding, followed by Dr. Bob’s ice creams.

The food at Vibrato is definitely better than at most jazz venues; it certainly offers more variety. And the best choices -- classic martinis, oysters on the half shell and prime steaks and chops -- seem fitting. Go for anything more complicated on the menu, and the cooking gets shaky.

At this club, it may be best to let the music carry the complexity. Alpert and his partners have come up with something unique for L.A: a sophisticated venue where live jazz and decent, if not great cooking, make for an exceptionally pleasant evening.

*

Vibrato

Rating: *

Location: 2930 Beverly Glen Circle, Bel-Air, (310) 474-9400.

Ambience: Glamorous suburban supper club and jazz lounge with live music and tables arranged in a semicircle around the stage.

Service: Varies from the obsequious to the earnest and inexperienced.

Price: Appetizers, $6 to $14; main courses, $26 to $35, sides, $6 to $9, desserts, $8.

Best dishes: Oysters, grilled lamb chops, Kansas City steak, pounded veal chop with mozzarella and tomato sauce, braised spinach, half and half (fried onions and potatoes), warm bread pudding, Dr. Bob’s ice cream.

Wine list: Wide-ranging, with bottles to represent practically every winemaking region in the world, including South Africa, plus 24 wines by the glass. Corkage $25.

Best table: One of the high-backed booths at the back of the room.

Special features: Private rooms upstairs overlooking the stage.

Details: Open for dinner Sunday through Thursday, 5:30 to 10 p.m., Friday and Saturday until 10:30 p.m. Full bar. Valet and lot parking.

Rating is based on food, service and ambience, with price taken into account in relation to quality. ****: Outstanding on every level. ***: Excellent. **: Very good. *: Good. No star: Poor to satisfactory.