Museum Concerts Strike Right Notes

Thursday night’s scheduled appearance of pianist Barry Harris as part of the Museum of Contemporary Art’s Summer Nights at MOCA series marked the end of an unexpectedly successful jazz concert season at area museums. MOCA, the UCLA/Armand Hammer Museum and the Los Angeles County Museum of Art have all reported sizable, enthusiastic crowds during their free summer concert runs.

“We were very happy in terms of the size of the audiences, the mix of people who attended and the quality of the bands that appeared,” said Sylvia Hohri, assistant director of communications and community relations at MOCA. “We’ll definitely be holding concerts again next summer.”

Likewise for the Westwood Jazz at the Hammer series in the courtyard of the UCLA/Armand Hammer Museum during June and July. Crowds of 800 to 900 were reported on hand for each of the six dates. Presented by the Westwood Village Community Alliance in cooperation with the museum, organizers are looking to expand the series to eight concerts next summer.

LACMA’s year-round Friday evening jazz concerts continue to attract as many as 1,000 listeners to its outdoor square each week while the last of three Sunday afternoon big-band shows with the Bill Holman Orchestra held Aug. 17 brought in 850 listeners, according to the museum.

Representatives of each program confirmed observations that the makeup of the crowds reflected the neighborhoods in which they were held. “We have a good cross-section [in the audience],” says LACMA music programs coordinator Annissa Lui. “We attract people from the offices along the Miracle Mile as well as from the surrounding residential areas. There are lots of regulars every Friday.”

Master Class: While he’s in town, pianist Harris, who’s known at home in New York for his educational work, conducts a second master class for aspiring young musicians Saturday, 10 a.m.-4 p.m. at the World Stage, 4344 Degnan Blvd. $10. Harris hosted his first master class at the Leimert Park performance space in July. Information: (213) 293-2451.

Jazz at Drew: The seventh annual Jazz at Drew Legacy Musical Series & Cultural Marketplace, to be held Oct. 4-5, on the campus of the Charles R. Drew University of Medicine & Science, boasts a well-rounded mix of internationally recognized jazz musicians and local performers.

Saturday’s performers include saxophonist Jackie McLean and the Cedar Walton Trio, trumpeter Roy Hargrove, drummer Norman Connors and his Starship Orchestra and the Watts 103rd St. Rhythm Band directed by Charles Wright. Sunday’s schedule includes vocalist Ernie Andrews, keyboardist Les McCann, vocalist Marlena Shaw, Bonesoir, saxophonist Charles McPherson and the Frank Capp Juggernaut with an appearance from Japanese vocalist Tosio Oida and his pianist Fumio Karashima. This year’s theme is “Building Cultural Bridges Through Music.”

Founder and executive producer of the event Roland H. Betts says the annual festival helps introduce jazz fans and corporate sponsors to the Drew University community while raising money for its various preschool through medical school programs. (Drew is currently building a medical magnet high school on its campus that will serve 1,700 students. It’s scheduled for completion in the spring of 1998.)

Tickets for Jazz at Drew are $30 at the door. Drew University is located at 1621 E. 120th St. Information: (213) 563-9395.

Birdland’s Back: Birdland West, the Long Beach club that closed its doors in 1995, will reopen, if only for one day, as part of the 10th annual Long Beach Day of Music, Saturday from 2 p.m.-2 a.m.

Scheduled to appear at the upstairs venue located at 105 W. Broadway are the Joey Sellars-Tony Malaby Quartet, Edmund Velasco, the Al Williams Jazz Society (Williams is the former owner of Birdland West) and the Leaders with Bobby Bradford, Billy Higgins, Charles Owens and Roberto Miranda. The Day of Music festivities include nearly 30 bands of all sorts playing at seven downtown venues. Tickets, good for all events, are $12 in advance, $15 on the day of performance. (562) 435-2525.

Latin Sounds: Trombonist Willie Colon reunites with Ruben Blades at the fourth annual Hollywood Salsa & Latin Jazz Festival, set for Saturday at the Hollywood Bowl. Also scheduled are Oscar D’Leon and his orchestra, vocalist India and the group Vocal Sampling. Information: (213) 850-2000.

And More Latin Sounds: The L.A. International Latin Jazz Festival will honor Afro-Cuban bandleader and percussionist Mongo Santamaria with two days of music, Oct. 25-26. Arturo Sandoval, Jerry Gonzalez and the Fort Apache Band, Caribbean Jazz Project, Cachao y su Orquesta, Poncho Sanchez, Danilo Perez and others are scheduled to appear at the Greek Theatre event. (213) 480-3232.

Look Ahead: Cassandra Wilson opens for Ray Charles at the Greek Theatre, Oct. 5. . . . Pianist Cecil Taylor leads a trio in a rare Southern California appearance at the Jazz Bakery Oct. 7-12, (310) 271-9039. . . . The T. S. Monk Sextet with vocalist Nnenna Freelon, saxophonist Bobby Watson and others present “Monk on Monk,” Oct. 10 at the Veterans Wadsworth Theater, (213) 825-2101. . . . Trumpeter Clark Terry, saxophonist James Moody, drummer Ignacio Berroa and others team for “Dizzy: The Man and His Music,” Oct. 18 at the Luckman Fine Arts Complex, (213) 343-6600. . . . Trumpeter Tom Harrell appears with saxophonist Charles McPherson’s quartet at Catalina Bar & Grill, Oct. 19-20. (213) 466-2210. . . . Sonny Rollins plays the House of Blues, Oct. 25, (213) 650-1451.