SPEAKING IN JAZZ TOMMY KAY TRIO KEEPS MUSIC'S FLAME BURNING BRIGHT IN VALLEY.

Byline: Fred Shuster Music Writer

Hunched over his big jazz guitar, Tommy Kay was in the midst of a lively exploration of a classic bebop tune from the '50s when something strange happened recently at Bar Coda, a high-tech hideaway in Sherman Oaks.

A group of college-age kids, partying with beer and flashing cell phones, suddenly got quiet. They leaned forward in their seats to soak up music they clearly had never experienced before.

The thrilling sound -- authentic straight-ahead jazz, all instrumental, was being played with genuine heart and soul by the Tommy Kay Trio, one of the best, most experienced, yet little-known jazz ensembles in Los Angeles. The band is rooted in the exciting hard bop of the '50s and '60s, yet has its feet firmly planted in the economic realities of today's jazz scene.

"There are a million different descriptions of jazz, but to me, the greatest artists always tipped their hat to the generation that came before," says guitarist, composer and band-leader Kay, who started playing clubs in upstate New York at age 13, and last year arranged and co-wrote for George Benson's latest album. "I have open ears and listen to everything that's going on today, and I'm taking in elements of what I hear that might be interesting harmonically or rhythmically."

It says something about the current state of jazz that it often takes a truly dedicated fan to track down the good stuff. In the last 30 years, Kay and others note, the economics of the music has hardly changed, while countless clubs have faded out.

Yet the jazz scene in the San Fernando Valley is unusually healthy, thanks to dedicated players like the Kay Trio who are willing to play for peanuts for audiences who not only appreciate their work but seek it out.

"We're in the middle of a resurgence right now," says Clarence Robinson, the trio's classically trained upright bassist. "Kids are starting to be a little more accepting of different kinds of music, and the groups that use actual instruments and not just samples and turntables are helping that along. We all hang in there because it's something we love."

Like most working jazz musicians who aren't headlining Disney Hall, Robinson, a veteran of top New York salsa bands and free-jazz ensembles who worked with Hilton Ruiz, Kenny Kirkland and Mary Lou Williams, among others, makes ends meet playing regular dates and casual bookings. He also works as a luthier and piano technician.

"Things really haven't changed that much," observes Kay Trio drummer Clarence Johnston, an elegant player with a rock-solid beat who has played or recorded with most of the legendary jazz musicians of the past 60 years, including Charlie Parker, Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Sonny Stitt and Billie Holiday. "There isn't that much money in it to begin with. You do it because you either don't know anything else or you love it and can't live without it."

Along with his Kay Trio dates, the dapper Johnston leads the Sunday jazz jam at the Cat & Fiddle in Hollywood and handles other gigs around town as they come up.

A typically diverse set by the Kay Trio might move from Kurt Weill's "Speak Low" to a nicely arranged ballad reading of the Carpenters' "Close to You," as well as Davis' hard-hitting "Tune Up," Grant Green's "Jean de Fleur" and Kay originals like "Four Steps."

A dizzyingly lyrical soloist in the Wes Montgomery mode, Kay has a vast knowledge of jazz and blues and a seemingly endless supply of both obscure and familiar tunes. He's known as one of the best guitarists in town -- and one of the most approachable, with his trio drawing players of various genres and music fans of all ages.

"Tommy is a marvelous player and a real down-to-earth guy," said educator and guitarist John Pisano, a founding member of Herb Alpert's Tijuana Brass and a first-call accompanist who hosts and performs at John Pisano's Guitar Night on Tuesdays at Spazio in Sherman Oaks. "He's one of the most dependable players around, and he really knows what he's doing."

Along with Wednesdays at Bar Coda, the Kay Trio appears weekends upstairs at Vitello's, the popular Italian restaurant in Studio City. No matter where he plays, audiences find themselves paying attention to musicians who value the use of silence while bringing forth telepathic musical interplay and melodies that tickle the ear.

"One of the key elements in music that seems to be overlooked right now is sonority - having a sound, a pleasing tone," said the good-natured Kay, who plays a warm-sounding Gibson L5 and shuns electronic effects. "There are lots of musicians who play with a sound that, to me, is not a lovely, open, warm tone that draws you in. It's quite the opposite, and maybe that's intentional, and I just don't understand it, but the reason I like the trio format I play in is that it's an organic sound.

"There's nowhere to hide in the music. It's not a manipulated or artificial tone. Other than the amplifier making it louder, it's still the sound of the guitar. That's the thing about jazz - it's the plain truth."

Fred Shuster, [phone]

fred.shuster(at)dailynews.com

TOMMY KAY TRIO

Where: Bar Coda, 5248 Van Nuys Blvd., Sherman Oaks.

When: 9:30 p.m. today and every Wednesday.

Cover: None. [phone]

Where: Vitello's 4349 Tujunga Ave., Studio City.

When: 7:30 to 10 p.m. Fridays and Saturday.

Cover: $10. [phone].

JOHN PISANO'S GUITAR NIGHT

Where: Spazio, 14755 Ventura Blvd., Sherman Oaks.

When: 8 p.m. Tuesdays.

Cover: $15 drink minimum. [phone].

JAZZ IN THE VALLEY

Guitarist and educator John Pisano, leader of a jazz guitar night at Spazio in Sherman Oaks, jokes that the only way to make $1 million in a jazz club is to start with $2 million.

Here is a selected list of other local clubs that offer jazz and aren't making $1 million.

Back Room at Henri's, 21601 Sherman Way, Canoga Park; [phone].

Baked Potato, 3787 Cahuenga Blvd., North Hollywood; [phone].

Charlie O's, 13725 Victory Blvd., Van Nuys; [phone].

Jax, 339 N. Brand Blvd., Glendale; [phone].

La Ve Lee, 12514 Ventura Blvd., Studio City; [phone].

Money Tree, 10149 Riverside Drive, Toluca Lake; [phone].

CAPTION(S):

3 photos, box

Photo:

(1 -- cover) BEBOPPING WITH TOMMY KAY TRIO

(2) Bassist Clarence Robinson, left, dummer Clarence Johnston and guitarist Tommy Kay are in a rare, enviable position - they play regular jazz gigs in the Valley three nights a week.

(3) no caption (Tommy Kay Trio)

Box:

JAZZ IN THE VALLEY (see text)