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Ellington's Sacred Concert

Sunday, March 7, 2004 at 7 pm
Tuesday, March 9, 2004 at 7:30 pm

Featuring the Luckman Jazz Orchestra
Meet Jack Nimitz

He’s played with everyone from Frank Sinatra, Sonny Stitt and the Beach Boys, to Count Basie, Gerald Wilson, and both Nat and Natalie Cole. A musician’s musician, Jack Nimitz is master of the baritone sax, swinging, cool and ready to pick up his axe and tour Europe whenever called, though perhaps not as frequently as in the past.

“When it comes to horn players,” says Nimitz, “you don’t see too many 74-year old baritone players — which is what I am.”

As a member of the 17-piece Luckman Jazz Orchestra, Nimitz is not only seen, he’s definitely heard. But prior to bowing with LJO, Nimitz — a guy born to blow — grew up in Washington, D.C. It was there he began studying the clarinet before turning to alto saxophone. In his early twenties, Nimitz then fell in love with the baritone sax, landing a chair with Woody Herman for a couple of years before playing with Stan Kenton.

During the late 50’s and 60’s (Nimitz moved to Los Angeles in 1960 and currently lives in Studio City), the musician says he worked around the clock, alternating between studio jobs and jazz gigs. In the 70’s he performed with Supersax, a quintet of guys playing orchestrated solos of Charlie Parker. The group snagged one Grammy and received two other nominations.

Says Nimitz: “We played until a few years ago, when a couple of the guys died. We didn’t want replacements, because the music is so hard, you just can’t come in and read that book. We decided if it couldn’t sound as good as it did at its peak, why bother?”

It’s that kind of perfection that separates Nimitz from the pack. It’s also what makes him a consummate musician. “I love the sax and practice every day. I have to,” Nimitz points out. “I stopped smoking a long time ago, but I have emphysema. My doctor told me, ‘Don’t stop playing — that’s the greatest exercise for your lungs.’ That’s what’s saving my life.”

Music as a healing art form packs a one-two punch when combined with a spiritual element, none more beautiful than that heard in Duke Ellington’s Sacred Concert works. Although Nimitz never performed with the Duke, he did meet him in the early 1970’s at the now-closed Ambassador Hotel’s Cocoanut Grove.

“He was very gracious, very nice,” recalls Nimitz, who has performed Ellington’s sacred music on several occasions, calling it “fantastic, emotionally gratifying and inspired. When we finish playing it,” adds the saxophonist, “I’m vibrating for two days afterwards. It’s not difficult, but it’s demand ing. There’s a difference.”

Nimitz, whose latest CD, Jack Nimitz Quintet Live at the Lighthouse, was released this month, has no plans to retire. “When I can’t play anymore or feel I’m not carrying my end of the bargain, so to speak, I’ll just stop myself. If I can’t make it sound as good as it’s supposed to sound, why be there? But I’ll play at home,” he claims, “because I really love it.”

Some of L.A.’s best jazz artists make up the Luckman Jazz Orchestra, performing with the Chorale in these concerts. Victoria Looseleaf profiles four members — Leon “Ndgugu” Chancler, Bennie Maupin, Jack Nimitz and Ann Patterson.