John Katsilometes drums up support for a couple of pieces of Irv Kluger’s musical past

Sunday, Aug. 6, 2006 | 7:39 a.m.

The drum kit was Irv Kluger's life. And even after his death, it keeps giving.

Fighting to keep the Vegas Valley Drive house she and Irv made home for more than 40 years, Phyllis Kluger has turned to eBay to sell the antique Chinese cymbal Kluger used up until his final performance at Pogo's Tavern, where for 20 years he led an all-star jam session every Friday from 8 p.m. to midnight. Also up for bid is a snare drum signed by Buddy Rich.

The cymbal, which Kluger owned for 66 years, should fetch around $300. But the autographed snare is far more valuable, Phyllis said during a phone interview last week. "A collector in Chicago has already made an offer of $10,000 for it. He said he could turn around and sell it for more in Chicago. We're going to see what happens on eBay, to see if anyone will pay more than that amount."

Kluger, whose tousled gray mane made him look like a manic Albert Einstein as he bounded behind his drum kit, was a highly regarded session drummer who performed with such legends as Artie Shaw, Jimmy Dorsey, Woody Herman, Buddy Rich, Duke Ellington, Louis Armstrong, Thelonious Monk, Count Basie and many others. For the better part of 40 years (including a 16-year stint with his own band) he made the dank, smoky Pogo's lounge his stage.

Kluger died Feb. 28, a month after suffering a heart attack (Phyllis says he had been suffering "ministrokes" for months prior to the heart attack and for the past year drove him to his Pogo's gig because she did not want to risk having him behind the wheel of a car). Kluger donated much of his pension to the American Federation of Musicians union, and what was set aside for his family quickly dissipated.

The cymbal will be posted on eBay at least through Tuesday, and the drum will be posted Monday or Tuesday for at least a week.

NoteMart

The Luxor has not posted ticket information (or any other information) on its Web site for Liza Minnelli's appearances from Oct 12 to Oct. 14. Those prices are $99, $82.50 and $60.50 at the former "Hairspray" theater

John Tesh is moving his show from KSTJ 102.7-FM to KJUL 104.7. His last show at 102.7 was Monday; he starts Monday on KJUL. This is the third Vegas outlet for Tesh's "Intelligence For Your Life" program (during which I learned that the ideal amount of time to spend brushing your teeth is the exact running time of the song, "Yellow Submarine"); he was at KMZQ 100.5-FM until that station suddenly shifted to the "JACK" format in July 2005

One highlight from new Flamingo Las Vegas headliner Toni Braxton's press VIP performance Thursday was the appearance of security man Bert Crowe, who, after 25 years as a Flamingo employee, finally took the spotlight to deliver Braxton her famed diamond-encrusted "$1 Million Microphone."

The new Vietnamese restaurant, Pho (pronounced "fuh!") has been open just a month at Treasure Island and already plans to expand its hours, says TI Executive Chef Craig Taylor. The Strip's only Vietnamese restaurant, Pho is open until 3 a.m. on Fridays and Saturdays, but usually there is a long line even at that early/late hour (something about all-hours gambling piques one's craving for Vietnamese food). So there are plans to keep the restaurant open until 4 a.m. (Taylor is keeping it open until 4 a.m. for the next couple of weeks before changing the hours permanently). The Pho concept was born from a desire to keep TI customers from bolting the casino for similarly styled restaurants at Chinatown on Spring Mountain Road, and the place is doing very good business.

A pair of Vegas journalists (one of whom occupies the same desk pod as I do here at Fab Central) have embarked on a pet project. Local freelancer Steve Friess and the Sun's own Emily Richmond have launched "The Petcast," an animal-focused podcast that can be heard at www.thepetcast.com. Recent guests have included the great Gregory Popovich of "Popovich Comedy Pet Theater at the V Theatre at the Desert Passage mall at the Aladdin.

Wanna dance? A blue Ford Explorer Adrenalin pickup with the plate TX2STEP.