YORK BALANCES TV GIG WITH MUSICAL MISSION.Byline: Fred Shuster Daily News Music WriterWhile in school, Jennifer York was warned by her mother not to pursue a career in music. One wonders how York's mom feels about her daughter's current occupation as KTLA's (Channel 5) helicopter-bound eye in the sky. York, who plays upright bass, divides her time between her jazz-fusion group, the York Quartet, and her gig with the ``KTLA KTLA KCBS TV in Los Angeles Morning News,'' perennially the top-rated morning-news show in town. She calls the traffic reporting A traffic report is an element of a radio program or TV news broadcast that informs listeners about general traffic conditions, locations and severity of traffic accidents, road construction detours/slowdowns, etc., on roadways within the broadcast area. job ``exhilarating, although it gets a little hot when you have makeup all over your face. Sometimes you see tragic accidents, sometimes you see disasters. You kind of get amped up there. You're over chases and fires - it's a whole different vibe from my other career, which is a heartfelt, spiritual bonding thing that goes on when I'm playing. You have to shift gears.'' York was born in Covina and raised in the Inland Empire In·land Empire A region of the northwest United States between the Cascade Range and the Rocky Mountains, comprising eastern Washington, eastern Oregon, northern Idaho, and western Montana. Farming, lumbering, and mining are important to the area. town of Hemet, an area she describes as filled with mobile home parks and banks. ``There was nothing to do but play music,'' she said. ``So, I played piano and then switched to bass in seventh grade. When I was in high school, my mom said I could never have kids and play bass professionally. She told me not to be a musician.'' York studied music in college, then switched majors to broadcasting. Eventually, she landed an internship with ABC's ``Good Morning America'' and stayed four years before becoming a traffic reporter for news radio KFWB-AM (980). ``They liked my voice and said, `Let's throw her up in an airplane,' '' York recalled. The plane led to KFWB's helicopter, and from there York was hired at KTLA. Her hours are 5 a.m. until around noon weekdays. The York Quartet appears Sunday at Pasadena's free Playboy Jazz in Central Park show along with Latin jazz Latin jazz is the general term given to music that combines rhythms from African and Latin American countries with jazz and classical harmonies from Latin America, the Caribbean, Europe and United States. The two main categories of Latin Jazz are Brazilian and Afro-Cuban. percussionist Pete Escovedo Pete Escovedo is a world-famous Afro-Latin American musician, father to Sheila Escovedo aka Sheila E and brother of Alejandro Escovedo, a Mexican-American musician. , saxophonist Bennie Maupin Bernie Maupin(born 29 August 1940) is a Detroit jazz multireedist. He performs on saxophones, flute and bass clarinet. He is probably best-known for his membership in Herbie Hancock's Mwandishi , blues singer Charlie Jene and others. ``I love helping people with their commutes,'' said York, who also plays with the all-female Maiden Voyage Noun 1. maiden voyage - the first voyage of its kind; "in 1912 the ocean liner Titanic sank on its maiden voyage" ocean trip, voyage - an act of traveling by water Jazz Orchestra. ``It's important to me to be a servant to my community. But if you told me 10 years ago I'd be in a helicopter doing traffic for a living, I'd have said you were crazy.'' York's quartet - which also includes Alexandra Caselli (piano), Mindy Abair (sax) and Suzanne Morissette (drums) - has been together four years. The group recently completed a demo tape, and York is looking for Looking for In the context of general equities, this describing a buy interest in which a dealer is asked to offer stock, often involving a capital commitment. Antithesis of in touch with. a regular weekly gig for the band. ``We started playing together at a girlfriend's house on Friday mornings,'' said York, who lives in Studio City with her professional bassist husband and two dogs. ``The jams were fun, and I got offered a regular gig in Pasadena. It's nice to have a steady gig in town.'' York's residency at a Pasadena restaurant recently ended. Starting June 1, she will co-anchor the 11 a.m. KTLA newscast for a few weeks. ``You do lose sleep,'' she said of balancing music and broadcasting. ``But this is a job for the '90s. You didn't have traffic reporters in helicopters before. I really love it. You have a responsibility to give accurate information. And I love the people I work with. I hope we stay together for a very long time.'' THE FACTS Who: The York Quartet. Where: Playboy Jazz in Central Park, Fair Oaks Fair Oaks, town, United States Fair Oaks, uninc. residential town (1990 pop. 26,867), Sacramento co., N central Calif., on the American River, in a growing citrus fruit and farm area. Avenue (two blocks south of Colorado Boulevard Colorado Boulevard (or Colorado Street) is a major east-west street in Southern California, United States. It runs from Griffith Park in Los Angeles east through Glendale, the Eagle Rock section of Los Angeles, Pasadena, and Arcadia, ending in Monrovia. ), Pasadena. When: 3:30 p.m. Sunday. Tickets: Free. CAPTION(S): Photo Photo: Jennifer York Bass-playing reporter |
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