Columnist Jerry Fink: Live music being brewed at Gordon Biersch Co.

Friday, Aug. 10, 2001 | 9:24 a.m.

Jerry Fink's lounge column appears on Fridays. Reach him at jerry@ lasvegassun.com or 259-4058.

Gordon Biersch Brewing Co. not only serves home brew, it caters to home-grown entertainment.

"We're a key player in the local music scene," company spokesman Todd Margoluis points out.

Most Fridays and Saturdays, beginning at 9 p.m., a local group can be found at the microbrewery's lounge on Paradise Road. Tonight and Aug. 17 it will be Too Hip (an R&B band) and on Aug. 24-25 it will be Red Eye (which plays top-40 tunes).

One recent Wednesday night it hosted a party for local jazz saxophonist Rocky Gordon, celebrating the release of his new CD by the Toc/Orchard label, "Perfect World."

Jazz isn't normally on the entertainment menu, and Wednesday night isn't a normal night for live music. But Margoluis knows Gordon and respects his talent and so arranged the event.

"We do a lot of top-40 rock, reggae, a lot of covers," Margoluis said. "Jazz is not the most typical kind of music we have here, but being that he's a local artist and very talented, we arranged it."

It was the first CD release party at the pub-restaurant, and judging from the standing-room-only crowd it was a successful one, so maybe there will be more in the future.

"In L.A. you do a CD release party and you go to a room and pop in a CD and listen," Margoluis said. "How often to you get to hear the live band playing the music you hear on the CD, and it's free?"

If anyone deserved a party it was Gordon.

The 40-year-old musician has been playing professionally at local venues since before he was old enough to drive.

"I was working underage on the Strip as a drummer," Gordon said.

His father is tenor-saxophonist Irv Gordon, who has been part of the local music scene since 1955. He performed at most of the major venues until deciding to retire eight years ago to devote his time to his first love -- jazz. Irv can be heard every Friday at Pogo's, performing with drummer Irv Kluger's jazz ensemble.

Rocky Gordon also spent years playing mainstream music until his love of jazz drew him in that direction in the early '90s.

The transition was inevitable. Even though he began studying classical piano at age 9, Gordon also learned to play drums from Kluger, one of the country's premier jazz musicians.

And, of course, there was the influence of his father.

"But my father and I are different," Gordon said. "My father came from the bee-bop school. I kind of went out on my own and ventured into not only his artists but the new artists as well, like Chick Corea and new fusion-type groups like Spyro Gyra. But I just basically formulated my own style."

When he was mainstream, Gordon played drums. When he turned to jazz he took up the soprano sax and the saxello.

"The saxophone was my secondary instrument, but it was something I had always desired to bring up front," he said.

Gordon has become a fixture on the local jazz scene. He will perform at the Sun City Anthem Country Club Friday night. He may be heard at Houlihan's on North Rainbow Boulevard Thursday and Friday nights and at Bilbo's on West Charleston Boulevard Tuesday nights.

He released his first CD, "Song Painting," in 1999. As a result of the success of that recording, he received a three-album deal. "Perfect World" is the first of the three follow-up albums.

He wrote all of the songs for both albums. The music for "Song Painting" was written sporadically over time, Gordon said. The music for "Perfect World" was written at about the same time.

" 'Perfect World' is a little more earthy, has a little more color in it," Gordon said.

The CD also features his daughter, Mikalah, 13, who performed with her father at the recent party.

The Gordon talent has been extended to the next generation.

"Mikalah is a vocal prodigy," Gordon said. "When she was 2 1/2, she sang her ABC's in perfect pitch."

Lounging around

Elvis fans still mourning the death of their idol can share the grief Thursday, the 24th anniversary of his passing). Pete "Big Elvis" Vallee will perform a tribute to the King beginning at 7 p.m. at the Magic Star in Henderson. Vallee, who tips the scales at 400 pounds, has been at the casino for six months and recently signed a one-year contract. He said several people who worked with Elvis, knew Elvis or are members of Elvis fan clubs will attend Thursday's event.

Female impersonator Kenny Kerr's on-again, off-again show at the Regent Las Vegas is off again. No reason given. The management is changing its mind more often than Kerr changes dresses.

Former basketball star Wayman Tisdale (University of Oklahoma, Indiana Pacers, Sacramento Kings, Phoenix Suns) will perform smooth jazz tonight at Texas Station's Dallas Event Center. Tisdale was a vocalist and bass player long before beginning his 12-year professional basketball career in 1986. The three-time All-American was the first OU player to have his number retired. His first CD, "In the Zone," released in 1996, was in the top 10 of the contemporary jazz chart for 30 weeks.