Fly me to the Moon
By Daily Bruin Staff
Nov. 15, 2000 9:00 p.m.
 ROSSETTE GONZALEZ Trumpeter Flip Oakes
blasts away at the Lunaria Restaurant and Jazz Club Tuesday
night.
by Emilia Hwang
Daily Bruin Senior Staff
The paintings on the walls of Lunaria Restaurant and Jazz Club
feature legendary jazz greats. The band up-staging the artwork
boasts a life-size rendition of contemporary musical talent and
experience.
Conrad Janis and the Beverly Hills Unlisted Jazz Band performed
a swinging set Tuesday night at the local jazz club located just
minutes away from UCLA. Regulars and newcomers, college students
and senior citizens alike filled the cozy lounge area to hear the
band’s weekly performances.
Lunaria features different talent during the week, with no cover
charge on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. The shows are open to all
ages.
The clean lines of the restaurant’s interior set a
sophisticated mood while comfortable couches and armchairs ensure a
relaxed atmosphere. Light-hearted humor permeates the band’s
sets, with guitarist Sheldon Keller taking the comedic reins from
the very beginning.
“Conrad couldn’t be with us tonight,” Keller
said after the first song. “He’s busy in New York being
mugged.”
Filling in for Janis was Phil Grey on trombone. With the help of
trumpeter Flip Oakes, Grey led the band through a night of blues,
Dixieland tunes and classic jazz standards.
 DANIEL WONG As part of the Beverly Hills Unlisted Jazz
Band, Paul Humphrey lays down the beats despite
the lack of their lead man, Conrad Janis. Arriving
late on stage after the first few songs, saxophonist John Altman
rounded out the horn section. Wearing jeans and tennis shoes with
his coat and tie, Altman wailed through lush solos, bending up to
high notes and running wild through the entire range of the soprano
sax.
While quick jokes added spice to the band’s performance,
zesty musical comedy also livened the night. Like a true
entertainer, Keller enjoyed lively banter with audience members
before breaking out into a Yiddish song.
With his glasses propped on his head, bass player Westy
Westenhofer stood out from the band in a colorful Hawaiian shirt.
Eager to demonstrate his multiple talents, Westenhofer put down his
double bass and ran off-stage. Returning with a tuba, he led the
band in a mocking tribute to the waltz. Belting out heavy notes,
Westenhofer mesmerized the audience with a hand ballet, waving his
free arm to the melody. Pianist Brian O’Rourke complemented
the humorous tune while drummer Paul Humphrey helped to keep a
steady three-four beat.
The climax of the piece came with the tubist putting down his
instrument to play the waltz with his left hand.
The low, quick splats and deeply robust tones of the human
bass-instrument that he created ended in a low reverberating note,
not to be confused with the sound of deep flatulence. The band paid
a quick tribute to their implied hero with “Wind Beneath My
Wings” and Keller thanked Westenhofer for making a complete
fool of himself.
The surprises, however, didn’t end with the playful waltz.
With endless curls tucked under an elaborate feather hat, a young
lady in a tight body suit also took the stage. Not knowing what to
make of her flamboyant garb, the audience watched, enticed by her
seductive song. Her husky voice implied that she was indeed an
exotic song bird, but her shimmering translucent cape suggested
that she might have just flown in from Las Vegas.
 Illustration by JENNY YURSHANSKY/Daily Bruin
Also lending her vocals to the band was singer Anna Guigui.
Though she gave a lively performance of “Kansas City,”
it was not dirty enough to take the crowd all the way down the
Mississippi. With the help of the piano rolling through a rumbling
solo and the bass pumping out a bluesy bass line, the song still
held its appeal, especially pleasing the lady in the front row who
vigorously swung her shoulders to the song’s beat.
Guigui’s heavy vocals proved a little weighty in her
version of “Someone to Watch Over Me.” The George and
Ira Gershwin classic felt a little rough around the edges, as her
forceful crescendos proved that the standard was hardly suited to
her thick vocal style.
Still a crowd-pleaser, Guigui delivered a spirited rendition of
“Fever.” With young ladies in the audience snapping
their fingers to the sultry tune, the vivacious singer proved not
as bewitching as Peggy Lee, though clearly not as noxious as
Madonna.
Though the night brought great music and comedy, the main
feature by far was the band’s great chemistry. Never missing
a beat, Conrad Janis and the Beverly Hills Unlisted Jazz Band
enjoyed lively jokes as well as the music’s harmonious
syncopation.
At certain moments, it was as if the audience was invited into
an intimate conversation with the seasoned musicians. The cohesive
horn section gracefully chattered through seamless conversations
with the solid rhythm section. The band members traded solos with
the ease of old friends, finishing each other’s
sentences.
Through it all, the question still remained ““ where was
Conrad Janis? According to the playful guitarist, he could be
anywhere ““ from riding through New York on the subway to
stealing watches in New Jersey.
MUSIC: Conrad Janis and the Beverly Hills Unlisted Jazz Band
plays Tuesday nights at Lunaria Restaurant and Jazz Club, located
at 10351 Santa Monica Blvd. in Los Angeles. For more information
call (310) 282-8870 or visit the Web site: http://www.lunariajazzscene.com
