Setting his life to music

Young Chang

Kevin Mahogany didn’t say much during a whole 20 minutes he had to

talk about himself this week.

The critically acclaimed jazz vocalist wasn’t pompous, obscure, he

wasn’t even unfriendly.

Mahogany was just so darn down-to-earth that even last-resort

questions like “When did you know you made it?” prompted a quick “I

haven’t made it yet. I’m still working everyday just like everyone else

is.”

With almost 10 albums to his name, the privilege of being called heir

to such vocal legends as Joe Williams and Jon Hendricks and a voice

that’s been declared his generation’s finest, Mahogany implies through

his 20 minutes of humble answers that he’s not expert enough to rattle on

about jazz in general or even his own career.

He emphasizes that whether you’re “an artist, reviewer, audience,

critic,” the point is simply to make music and have fun.

“This is not life and death surgery here. We’re having a good time,”

said the 43-year-old musician, who will perform next weekend at the

Orange County Performing Arts Center’s Jazz Club at Founders Hall.

Born and raised in Kansas City, Kan., the blues-based, swing-style of

jazz of the Midwest shaped the Boston resident as a musician.

“It’s part of why I perform the way I do,” Mahogany said. “The Kansas

City style of jazz is different from other places.”

He didn’t focus on singing until he entered Baker University in 1976.

Everyone was singing in high school and junior high, Mahogany said, which

moved him to concentrate on playing the baritone saxophone and clarinet.

When asked why and how he decided to mainly sing in college, he said

flatly that vocals seemed to be the easiest “way to go.”

No special stories there, no inspirational professors.

But he does offer that he considers himself just a vocalist, not “jazz

vocalist.”

“You name it,” said Mahogany, who also brews an acting career on the

side. “Pop, R&B; . . . the only thing I haven’t done is country and rock.”

But Center President Jerry Mandel, a jazz fan who also plays the

saxophone, said Mahogany’s upbringing in jazz sets him apart from other

vocalists in the genre.

“A lot of singers are not necessarily jazz singers. They are singers

who try to do jazz, but Kevin started as a jazz musician and so he

reflects a lot of that in his singing,” Mandel said.

Mahogany’s latest album releases include “Pussy Cat Dues” and

“Portrait of Kevin Mahogany.” Though he’s just completed a new album due

out in the spring and though he plans to continue recording a couple

records over the holidays, Mahogany says finding work as a musician is

difficult.

“I admire anyone who’s out there doing this for a living,” said the

Berklee College of Music professor. “It’s not quite that easy anymore. We

all know how difficult it is.”

Mahogany, whose film credits include Robert Altman’s “Kansas City,”

said he measures success by how fully he can pack an auditorium, whether

he’ll be talked about posthumously and whether his audience appears to be

enjoying his music.

“The whole thing is to have a good time with it,” he said. “And we’re

trying to take a few people with us. And if that works out right, my job

is done at least for that day, at least for that moment.”

FYI

WHAT: Kevin Mahogany performs

WHEN: 7:30 and 9:30 p.m. Friday and Dec. 22

WHERE: Orange County Performing Arts Center, 600 Town Center Drive,

Costa Mesa

COST: $46 or $39

CALL: (714) 740-7878