Rising star stops in Eugene.

Byline: FRED CRAFTS The Register-Guard

Rising jazz vocalist Kari Gaffney will be singing selections from her new "Angel Eyes" recording when she performs from 9 p.m. to midnight Thursday at Luna, 30 E. Broadway.

Voted best new female jazz vocalist by the California Radio and Jazz Association, Gaffney's recordings have been No. 2 on jazz radio in Chicago and New York; No. 3 in Switzerland and The Netherlands; No. 9 in Ohio and Colorado; and in the top 30 on various jazz radio stations in the United States and Canada.

A $5 cover will be charged.

Pop tunes from the 1920s through the 1940s will be performed by the Blue Skies Big Band of Eugene from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday at the Eugene Hilton, 66 E. Sixth Ave.

The event marks the return of the band's monthly dance concerts, after having taken the summer off to perform at the Lane County Fair, Island Park in Springfield and numerous private functions. On the program will be classic hits by Benny Goodman, Glenn Miller, Tommy Dorsey, Harry James, Woody Herman, Count Basie, Duke Ellington and many others.

Besides the band, the Jeweltones vocal trio will sing. Tickets, at $6 each, will be sold at the door. For more information, call 343-9882.

Inventive drummer Scott Amendola and his band will play at 9 p.m. Thursday at Sam Bond's Garage, 407 Blair Blvd. A sliding-scale cover of $3 to $5 will be charged.

Back often enough to be something of a fixture at the Eugene club, the Scott Amendola Band includes Nels Cline, guitar; Jenny Scheinman, violin; Todd Sickafoose, acoustic bass; and Eric Crystal, saxophones.

Amendola describes his music as ranging from "hard-hitting grooves to lush ballads, and from original compositions to covers of such artists as Jimi Hendrix, Fela and Nick Drake.

`It's all about improvisation and opening up the music so that anything can happen."

After graduating from the Berklee College of Music in 1992, Amendola went to San Francisco, where he fashioned the innovative band TJ Kirk (with Will Bernard and John Schott). TJ Kirk was nominated for a Grammy Award in 1995.

Two years later, Amendola joined the Charlie Hunter Quartet, with which he recorded three albums for Blue Note.

Portland blues singer Linda Hornbuckle is among the artists headlining the second annual Ashland Smooth Jazz and Blues Festival on Sept. 13-15 at Eden Farm, near Ashland.

The three-day affair opens at 6:30 p.m. that Friday with a blues show featuring Broadway Phil and the Shouters, the Aaron Black Band and Red Archibald.

The Sept. 14 show starts at 1:30 p.m. with a blues lineup of the Craig Allen Blues Band, the Dave Amour Band, Ellen Whyte, Linda Hornbuckle and the Tom Larsen Band.

Smooth jazz takes over Sept. 15 at 1:30 p.m., when Jeff Kashiwa and Coastal Access will be featured. Also performing will be Gypsy Tribe, the Bartron Tyler Group, Carol Toca and Tony Windle.

Tickets - $10 on Sept. 13 and $20 on Sept. 14-15 in advance (a $45 weekend pass is available in advance only) - are being sold online at www.ladybugshows. com. For information, call [phone].

CAPTION(S):

Scott Amendola and his band will play Sam Bond's on Thursday