Columnist Jerry Fink: Dixie band told to coast away

Friday, Feb. 25, 2005 | 8:27 a.m.

The longest-running lounge show in Las Vegas came to an abrupt halt Thursday, 30 days shy of 18 years in the lounge at the Gold Coast.

Jim Fitzgerald's Kinda Dixie Jazz Band is kinda history.

"It was management's decision to try something different," Fitzgerald, who was given the news Tuesday, said.

The band will perform at a jazz concert in California this weekend, but after that it will cease to exist, unless something unforeseen happens.

"I'll survive this," the 70-year-old Fitzgerald said. "I'm trying to be philosophical -- maybe it's time. But right now I've got a pain in my stomach and I can't sleep at night. This hurts like hell.

"I was hoping my career would end in a different way."

He said another band will replace his ensemble, but he doesn't know who or when.

Fitzgerald has been playing trombone since the age of 7. He has been in Vegas for 45 years. Of those, almost 30 years were with Michael Gaughan at his various properties, beginning in 1973 at his Royal Inn (now the Greek Isles).

"We were called the Royal Dixie Jazz Band back then," Fitzgerald, a native of Knoxville, Iowa, said.

When Gaughan opened Barbary Coast, Fitzgerald and the band followed him and performed at the venue for six years.

When he opened the Gold Coast in 1987 they followed him there. Back then they were the Sorta Dixie band. Eventually it became Kinda Dixie, because the group plays straight jazz, pop tunes and other styles of music.

"I'm grateful to Michael Gaughan," Fitzgerald said. "I have had steady work for almost 30 years. I raised my family, sent my boys through college.

"I've never really been out of work for any length of time. I'm grateful to Michael Gaughan for that."

Fitzgerald says he doesn't have a plan.

"I have a wood shop, so I will probably be spending some time in there," he said. "And I have a boat in my carport that I haven't used in 12 years. Maybe I'll go fishing."

Fitzgerald says throughout his life major decisions were made for him.

"Something happens and you adjust," he said.

But can he adjust to suddenly facing life without a gig?

"It's one of the realities of life," Fitzgerald said. "Nothing lasts forever."

Great show

Four months after a successful engagement at the Orleans, James Darren is back.

The actor/singer/director performs at 8 p.m. through Sunday. Tickets are $34.95. If this show is anything like the last, fans are in for a wonderful evening of entertainment.

Darren is a consummate performer -- great vocals, lots of humor and interaction with the audience (something many younger entertainers have never learned to do).

One of his most memorable movies was "Gidget," in which he played the role of Moondoggie, co-starring with the late Sandra Dee, who played Gidget. Dee died Sunday.

Darren's career has taken many turns over the past 40 years. He started out as a film actor, beginning with "Rumble on the Docks" in 1956. In 1959 he appeared in Gidget and sang the title tune and "There's No Such Thing as the Next Best Thing to Love," which turned him into a singing sensation.

Among his most memorable songs of the '60s were "Goodbye Cruel World" and "Angel Face."

Darren juggled two careers in the '60s, making hit records and hit movies. Among his notable films are "Let No Man Write My Epitaph" (1960), "The Guns of Navarone" (1961) and "Hey There, It's Yogi Bear" (1964).

Darren starred in the 1966 TV series "Time Tunnel" and co-starred in "T.J. Hooker" from 1983 to 1986.

In the late '70s and early '80s, he toured with comedian Buddy Hackett.

In the TV series "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine," Darren played the role of a lounge singer, which rekindled his interest in performing onstage.

Say 'Aah...'

Getting a jazz gig in Las Vegas is like pulling teeth -- but that isn't stopping Per Isberg, a semi-retired dentist and sax player, who has assembled some of the top musicians in Vegas.

"I want to bring good music to Vegas," said Isberg, a native of Sweden who spent more than 20 years in the Seattle area running nightclubs and practicing dentistry before moving to Las Vegas in 1999.

Isberg made enough money in his dental practice, real estate and other businesses to pursue his lifelong dream of making music.

He built a video and audio recording studio (Odyssey) in Henderson and has been working with many of the best instrumentalists and vocalists in the area, putting together a sound he hopes will entertain fans of good music.

"We don't have fireworks or play rock 'n' roll or show T&A," Isberg said.

Instead, they focus on great sounds.

At a recent session at his studio Isberg was joined by vocalist Kathleen "Kat" Ray, trumpeter Don Therrieu, pianist Woody Woods, drummer Jim Horejsi, bassist Fred Watstein, alto saxophonists Roger Hall and Bob Stone and tenor saxophonist Rick Torcaso.

Isberg, a baritone saxophonist, is a man on a mission.

"I'm trying to create a jazz foothold in Las Vegas," he said.

Oy Vey!

You never know when you're going to be bitten by the performance bug.

Take 60-year-old Ron Gartner, who will be performing at 7 p.m. March 9 at Sun City MacDonald Ranch and March 10 at Siena in Summerlin. Admission is $10 and $9, respectively.

When Gartner was a youth he sang in synagogues in Los Angeles. Some thought he should become a cantor, but he was infected by showbiz early and pursued a singing career.

"I discovered I had a voice and I wound up having bands in high school and college," Gartner said during a telephone interview from his home in New York. "I was fairly well known around USC and UCLA in the early '60s.

"I sang at the Whisky A-Go-Go at the same time as Johnny Rivers, Three Dog Night, Trini Lopez and on and on."

Gartner thought he was going to have an entertainment career but after a proposed deal with Motown evaporated he called it quits at age 19 and joined his father in the fabric business.

"He had a one-man operation as a jobber -- he bought left-over fabrics from garment manufacturers and sold them to fabric stores," Gartner said.

His father sold the business in 1994 and moved to Rancho Mirage, Calif. Gartner moved to New York and started BiCoastal Textiles.

When he wasn't working, Gartner hung out in piano bars and karaoke joints and sang at weddings and bar mitzvahs. The entertainment bug wasn't completely dead.

"I was single at the time," he said. "The piano bars were a nice way to meet the ladies."

He finally married one of them, then she quit going to the bars with him.

"She got bored," Gartner said. "She said I sing the same three songs to the same 30 people every night."

Four years ago Gartner decided to make a tentative step toward a professional singing career. He put together a show of 10 songs and offered to sing for free at a senior citizens center.

Suddenly, Gartner found a niche -- performing for seniors.

"I am the busiest unknown performer in the country, doing the Sun Cities and Leisure Worlds," he said.

Gartner sold most of his interest in his company and now concentrates on entertainment.

"I went from Shmatte business to show business," he said. Schmatte is a Yiddish word that means a rag or a piece of clothing.

Gartner's music is pop standards, rock and other genre for the Baby Boomers and older.

"I'm the only entertainer that can sing Perry Como and James Brown in the same show," he said. "That's what's winning me all the business. I please fans from 55 to 85."

He performs about 135 dates a year.

"Last year about half of them were senior residences," Gartner said. "This year they only account for about 10 percent. I'd say 90 percent of my shows are at golf course communities."

Reality sites

How strange that the fantasy world of Las Vegas should become, or at least have the appearance of becoming, the center of the universe for reality shows.

The latest is "Casino" -- no, not the one created by Mark Barnett ("Survivor" and "The Apprentice"), who gave us a show of that title centered on the Golden Nugget.

This "Casino" is being produced by Strix Television, a production company from Sweden. When syndicated, it is expected to be seen by 50 million viewers in 13 European countries.

Tom Kaz, billed as "Vegas' Rock 'n' Hypnotist," will be a featured performer in one episode of the reality show that was shot Thursday night at Sapphire.

"We set it up as an actual show, with an audience and contestants and everything," said Kaz, who has been doing a lot of corporate events and sales training seminars since his show at the Suncoast ended a couple of months ago.

Kaz said he and other performers will appear during the course of the series to add to the feeling of a "Vegas experience."

The premise of "Casino" is for 10 experienced gamblers to be given $150,000 with which to play whatever game they want over a period of 10 days.

Ho, ho -- huh?

Santas are running rampant at Imperial Palace.

No one has spiked the egg nog. It's the annual Naturally Santa Inc. convention, which began Wednesday and continues through Monday.

Dozens of Santa Clauses from across the country are attending the meeting, sharing experiences and learning new strategies in dealing with the holidays.

So you thought Santa's life was simple? Nope. It's meetings, meetings, meetings.

Naturally Santa, Inc., a 10-year-old organization based in Colorado Springs, Colo., has been holding its after-Christmas conventions at the Imperial Palace for three years.

The group consists of highly trained Santa Claus lookalikes.

Kids expo

The Entertainment Expo for Kids, a daylong cultural and educational event for children, teens, and young adults ages 5 to 21, will be held from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday at the Golden Nugget.

The expo will feature workshops, demonstrations and a trade show for parents and children who want to learn more about the fine arts -- including music, dance, art, theatre, acting, modeling, magic and singing.

A talent showcase will be held throughout the day in conjunction with the expo. Performers will be evaluated by agents and studios seeking new talent, according to Minnie Madden, publisher of Callback, the trade paper for Vegas performers.

Admission to the event will be free. Some workshops may charge a nominal fee to cover cost of materials.

For more information call 891-9222.

Soaps

Over 50 soap stars from all nine daytime soaps are in town today and Saturday for the third annual "Celebrities 4 Charity" weekend. Money raised by the event this year goes to Purity for a Child's Journey -- providing quality drinking water to prevent childhood cancers -- and a local children's hospital.

Tickets range from $35-$125.

From 8 to 11 tonight there will be a celebrity luau and Hawaiian dinner in the private pool area of Paris Las Vegas.

At 1 p.m. Saturday fans can see their favorite stars at Bally's Soap Fan Club Store.

For tickets and a list of participating Stars visit proevents- inc.com.

Vegas views

Approximately 80 bartenders from around the world will put their skills to the test during the seventh annual "Legends of Bartending" competition Monday and Tuesday at RA inside Luxor.

Preliminary rounds begin at 11 a.m. Monday. Admission is free.

Tickets are $25 for the finals, which begin at 8 p.m. Tuesday.

For information call 262-4949.

Magician Collin Foster is starring in "Quicker than the Eye" at the Plaza's Comedy Zone Showroom. Showtimes are 2 p.m. and 4 p.m. Tuesdays through Thursdays and Saturdays and Sundays; and at 4 p.m. and 6 p.m. Fridays.

Admission is free with the purchase of a drink.

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