JAZZ / DIRK SUTRO : She’s Sure to Please ‘Em at Humphrey’s Concerts

Singer Diane Schuur hasn’t shattered wine glasses on Memorex yet, but she’s turning a whole new generation of music listeners on to jazz.

Schuur, who plays two Humphrey’s Concerts by the Bay shows Friday night, is revered by mainstream jazz fans for her work with the Count Basie Orchestra. But she struck out in search of a new audience with the 1988 album “Talkin’ Bout You,” which found her in the company of commercially successful jazz players such as Dave Grusin and Tom Scott.

“Yeah, it was a conscious decision,” Schuur said. “I think it’s real important to have as diverse material as possible. I’ve strived for that. I don’t want to be just in one niche.”

Her 1987 album with the Basie band put her up for comparison with Jimmy Rushing, Joe Williams, Billie Holiday, Helen Humes and other greats who have sung with the band. Schuur’s powerful voice was up to the test, never getting lost under the stomping, swinging horn section.

Schuur lists Dinah Washington and Sarah Vaughan among her influences, along with the piano work of Duke Ellington and George Shearing.

Schuur, too, is a talented pianist, and said she will play piano on several numbers in San Diego. When she’s not at the keyboard, San Diego pianist Randy Porter will be sitting in.

“He’s a brilliant pianist, put that down as a quote from me,” Schuur said. Porter has backed her in recent gigs outside San Diego, and will accompany her on a tour of Japan next month.

San Diegans who haven’t seen Schuur in a while will barely recognize her.

“I’m a dwindling Deedles,” she said, a reference to the Morgan Ames song “Deedles Blues,” from her ’87 album. “I’ve lost about 70 pounds in seven months and I’m still losing. It’s no secret, I’m on Nutri-System.”

On the bill with Schuur is singer Kenny Rankin.

Even though Stacy Rowles is a maturing jazz musician, because her dad is respected pianist Jimmy Rowles, people still tend to think of her as “Jimmy’s daughter.”

Even so, trumpeter Rowles, who plays Diego’s Loft in Pacific Beach this Friday and Saturday with her trio, has been earning her own praise since her debut recording with her father in 1984.

Jazz was heard in the house while she was growing up, but for a time, Rowles, 34, was a rock ‘n’ roller.

“That is, until I went to high school,” she said. “Being a trumpet player, I got in jazz bands. I really took to it. The first person I listened to on flugelhorn was Chuck Mangione, with his quartet of the early ‘70s. After that, my dad turned me on to an old Freddie Hubbard record. It melted me right where I was standing. His tone, his warmth, the way he played. I wanted to sound just like that.”

Since then, Rowles has remained more interested in tone and interpretation than in awesome displays of speed and high register virtuosity.

“I’m a ballad player, that’s where my heart is. I can play fast when I have to, but to me it doesn’t mean as much as a ballad. I’m a more sensitive player.”

Rowles has not yet written material of her own. A typical set mixes Latin tunes, originals by members of her band and a generous supply of moody standards.

Her backup trio consists of Jeff Collela on piano, Erik Von Essen on bass and Jerry Kalas on drums. Rowles and her band also play behind the Jazz Tap Ensemble from Los Angeles and will perform with them at Carnegie Hall in New York City in September.

Rowles and her father live in Los Angeles, and they play together every Thursday night at Linda’s restaurant on Melrose Avenue in Hollywood. Her new album “Looking Back,” with Red Mitchell on bass, should be out in three to four weeks.

Bass player Ted Blake gave up the club scene years ago to support his family as a graphic designer for the city of San Diego’s Planning Department. But when he met Wes Curry, a pianist who moved to Ocean Beach from Washington a few months ago, the two hit it off musically and sought a place where they could play together regularly. Both of them live in tiny cottages at the foot of the Ocean Beach Pier, and they eventually landed a gig at the Ocean Pride Cafe, right on the pier. Until the pier closes for rebuilding this fall, you can hear Blake and Curry (plus a soon-to-be-chosen drummer) Friday and Saturday nights, usually with a guest horn player or vocalist.

RIFFS: Tonight, the Gaslamp Quarter Council presents another Art & Jazz Stroll, beginning at 6 p.m. Several Gaslamp Quarter venues along Fourth and Fifth Avenues will feature live jazz. Pick up a map for the self-guided tour at several of the galleries in the area. . . . Easton West, led by guitarist Hank Easton, appears at the B Street Cafe & Bar in downtown San Diego Saturday night. . . . The Chicago 6 will plays Dixieland jazz from 2 to 4 Sunday afternoon, at Ellen Browning Scripps Park next to La Jolla Cove. . . . Sax and reed man Jimmy Heath continues his stay at Elario’s nightly through Sunday, with Rob Schneiderman featured on piano.