Old Masters, Young Lions Set for Series

Wynton Marsalis, Maynard Ferguson, Roy Hargrove and Joe Williams are just a few of the established stars who will be spotlighted in the 1995-96 jazz programs presented by the UCLA Center for the Arts and Orange County Performing Arts Center.

UCLA’s lineup is composed of Marsalis leading the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra (Oct. 8), singer Nneena Freelon (Oct. 28), trumpeter Hargrove (Dec. 2), singer Cassandra Wilson (Feb. 10) and pianist-composer Eddie Palmieri (May 3). All shows will take place at the Wadsworth Theater in Brentwood, except the Marsalis concert, which will be held at the Wiltern Theatre. (Royce Hall on the UCLA campus, which is undergoing earthquake renovation, will not be available until spring, 1997.)

The performers set for Orange County’s Segerstrom Hall are trumpeter Ferguson and pianist Peter Delano (Sept. 8), trumpeter Arturo Sandoval and conga drummer Poncho Sanchez--with guest saxophonist Eddie Harris--(Oct. 20), and singer Joe Williams and saxophonist Joe Henderson (Feb. 2).

UCLA’s Michael Blachly, director of the campus’s Center for the Arts, said his concerts each have a different focus. For example, Hargrove is being showcased because he’s an emerging artist “who is making big statements on his instrument and is at the point of taking off,� while, in presenting singers like Freelon and Wilson, “we’re giving L.A. audiences a chance to know them a bit better.� Someone like Palmieri represents “an artist with long standing in his tradition, and, with Wynton, we have a strong track record.�

Aaron Egigian, director of special programs at the Orange County Performing Arts Center, offered a similar booking philosophy, wanting to present both masters, like Joe Williams and Joe Henderson, “who have an astounding level of communication,� and newcomers like Delano. And old favorites, too, like Sanchez, who sold out the house last year with Tito Puente. “People were dancing in the aisles,� Egigian said. “We didn’t want to let too much time pass without enjoying that again.�

Both directors said their past jazz shows had solid attendance, drawing an average of 75% capacity per show, and expected similar turnouts with the new programs.

Information for UCLA tickets, (310) 825-2101; for Orange County Performing Arts Center tickets, (213) 480-3232 or (714) 740-2000.

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Surfing the Jazzwaves: “The Coltrane Legacy,� a documentary on the great saxophonist, with some rewarding performance footage, airs tonight at 7 on the Bravo cable channel.

KPCC-FM (89.3) offers solid programs on Tuesday to help celebrate the Fourth of July. “Fine and Mellow: The Artistry of Billie Holiday,� airing at noon, examines the singer’s life and art through recordings and interviews with pianist Bobby Tucker and Marian McPartland and vocalist Abbey Lincoln. At 1 p.m., guitar innovator Les Paul, who recently turned 80, is profiled, and at 2 p.m., piano ace Randy Weston performs with his trio, featuring “Tonight Show� drummer Marvin “Smitty� Smith on “JazzSet.�

KLON-FM (88.1) plays the music of Ahmad Jamal on Monday, Louis Armstrong on Tuesday and artists recording for the first-rate Danish label Criss Cross on Wednesday.

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Riffs: Benny Carter will celebrate his 88th birthday with a performance at the Jazz Bakery on Aug. 9. He was born on Aug. 8, 1907, in New York. The show benefits the nonprofit Bakery and KLON-FM radio. Tickets, $60, from the Jazz Bakery office, 1836 Benedict Canyon Drive, Beverly Hills, CA 90210.

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Free Jazz: Invigorating pianist Horace Tapscott appears Thursday, 5 to 8 p.m., at the Museum of Contemporary Art, (213) 621-1749.

Singer Sandra Booker teams up with Frank Collett’s trio tonight, 5:30-8:30, at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, (213) 857-6115.

Jeff Lorber’s sizzling jazz/fusion band, with Gary Meek, Paul Jackson Jr. and Brian Bromberg is on tap Sunday, 7 p.m., at Wadsworth Theater, (310) 794-8961.

Susie Hansen’s Latin/jazz band plays Fridays, 6:30 to 9:30 p.m., poolside at the Whittier Hilton Hotel, (310) 945-8511.

Johnny Crawford’s 1928 Society Dance Orchestra performs Wednesday, 7 p.m. at the Century City Shopping Center, (310) 277-3898.