JAZZ REVIEW : Hot Wind Blows on Playboy Cruise

Recipe for jazz ambrosia: Take 1,000 fans, place them aboard a 183-foot luxury yacht, add three decks’ worth of sounds with equal portions of big-band music, fusion and solo piano, stir gently for three hours off San Pedro Harbor with food and beverage service for all.

That is how it worked Sunday afternoon when the aptly named California Hornblower took off in fine weather on its maiden voyage, with the Capp/Pierce Juggernaut band as the main attraction.

No doubt inspired by this ambiance, the 16-piece ensemble was as hot as it has been in its 14-year history, playing classic charts such as Quincy Jones’ “For Lena and Lennie,” Neal Hefti’s “Whirly Bird” and Jimmy Mundy’s “Queer Street.”

A dozen gifted soloists were showcased, among them: Marshal Royal in “Souvenir,” Snooky Young singing and playing “Tain’t What You Do,” Bill Green in fine fettle with his soprano sax on “New York Shuffle” and the demonic tenor sax exchanges of Ricky Woodard and Gary Herbig.

There was room to dance; some took advantage of this, but most simply drank in the sounds. Some joined the crowd on the upper deck, where pianist Gerald Wiggins, as befitted the occasion, applied his gentle mastery to “My Ship”; others went down to the main deck, where Brandon Fields’ fusion sounds found the leader on saxes and an electric wind instrument, aided by Walt Fowler on fluegelhorn and Dave Witham on keyboard. Fields’ repertoire takes in everything from contemporary works to Herbie Hancock.