A Change of Pace

Tenor saxophonist Don Menza is acclaimed for delivering a lot of notes at breakneck speed. His most well-known recording, a solo on “Channel One Suite,” was recorded with drummer Buddy Rich’s big band in 1968, and it demonstrates just that sort of phenomenal technique.

But that number starts with a slow, steamy ballad, showcasing another side of Menza. It is softer and more quietly passionate, a side that the 60-year-old says better reflects the real Don Menza.

“With a ballad, you can vocalize and sing,” he said. “You can tell a lot about a person’s soul and who they are by the first four bars of a ballad.”

That statement may surprise fans of Menza. Not only has he gained considerable attention for his speed-driven solos, he sometimes he comes across as a gruff, tough tenor sax player, someone you don’t mess with. He says he’s not that fellow either.

“I’m really very humble,” he said. “For many years, I had doubts and insecurities about my playing. I felt I didn’t know enough. So I was trying so hard to show people who I was. I was so aggressive that it turned a lot of people off.”

Menza, a native of Buffalo, N.Y., is essentially self-taught as both an instrumentalist and a composer-arranger. He earned his reputation as a “hot” player, he said, when he was with trumpeter Maynard Ferguson’s band from 1960 to ’61.

“People used to ask me, ‘Don’t you ever like to play ballads?’ ” Menza said. “Well, Willie [Maiden, the other tenor saxophonist], didn’t like to play fast. So he played all the ballads, and when Maynard wanted ‘hot,’ he pointed at me.”

Lately, however, the potent musician is fully embracing his desire for softer sounds. One reason is he’s more at home in his own skin. “I’m fairly well focused now, believing in what I’m doing,” he said.

This comes out in subtle ways, for instance, taking a tune such as “Cherokee,” which is usually a vehicle for faster-than-you-can-hear expositions, and playing it at ballad tempo.

“I do that all the time,” he said. “Same with ‘Stella by Starlight.’ And if you listen to the original versions of those tunes, they were ballads.”

Menza will no doubt play a ballad or two when he appears Friday at Chadney’s, working with drummer Andrea Marcelli’s trio. (Bass great Dave Carpenter and superb guitarist Larry Koonse round out the band.) But which ballads he’ll offer may be up to Koonse.

“I played with this band at Chadney’s on Dec. 27 and I told Larry, ‘You call the tunes,’ ” Menza said. “It’s more fun for me to do it that way, because I start searching for new things to play.”

The saxophonist said that Koonse has “a great time and incredible chops” and that Marcelli “plays nice and light, and with lots of imagination.”

Menza started playing saxophone at 15, enthralled first by Coleman Hawkins and, later, Stan Getz, Gene Ammons and Sonny Stitt. While in the service in Germany from 1955 to ‘57, he taught himself how to compose and arrange for big band (and ultimately became one of the most prolific of modern writers, having composed 100 originals).

He moved to Los Angeles after his stint with Rich, but, except for the last six months, most of his recent playing has been in Las Vegas, where he runs the Monday night jazz show at the Riviera Hotel. He and his wife, Rose, have homes in North Hollywood and Las Vegas.

If there’s been a Menza career highlight, it was his year with Rich. “He never let down, ever,” he said. “He demanded as much of everyone as he gave, and mediocrity did not exist in his vocabulary. I was with him a short time, but talk about making my mark . . .”

* Don Menza plays 9 p.m.-1 a.m. Friday at Chadney’s, 3000 W. Olive St., Burbank. No cover, one-drink minimum per show. (818) 843-5333.

Quick Hits

Ray Armando follows Menza into Chadney’s on Saturday, when the vibrant Latin/jazz percussionist celebrates his birthday night.

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Inventive and impressive, youthful alto saxophonist Scheila Gonzalez was a recent recipient of the Los Angeles Jazz Society’s Shelly Manne Memorial New Talent Award. Currently featured with Ann Patterson’s Maiden Voyage, Gonzalez teams with drummer Ron Manaog and fronts a foursome at 8 p.m. Monday at Common Grounds, 9250 Reseda Blvd., Northridge; no cover, $2.50 minimum purchase; (818) 882-3666.

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Pianist Lloyd Hebert is a journeyman of the L.A. jazz milieu who should be better known than he is. At 9 p.m. Friday, he brings his deft touch and melodic style to J.P.’s Lounge, 1333 Hollywood Way, Burbank; no cover, no minimum; (818) 845-1800.