LOOKING IN ON: ENTERTAINMENT

Thursday, May 24, 2007 | 6:53 a.m.

Las Vegas has a budding jazz scene just waiting to burst into full bloom.

Many superb musicians live here, but mostly perform elsewhere.

Smooth jazz saxophonist Paul Taylor is among that elite troupe of instrumentalists who are proud to call Vegas home but wish there were more work locally.

"I've been here, like, 30 years," Taylor, 47, says. "When I first got here there was kind of a stigma for musicians: You didn't want to be from Vegas. I wouldn't even tell you where I was from till you got to know me a little better.

"But Vegas has grown and changed so much that it is a very hip place now. I'm glad it came around."

Taylor, a native of Denver, came to UNLV on a music scholarship and never left. "I just enjoy living here."

But most of his work is on the road. He gets maybe one gig a year in Las Vegas.

"If I can get more, that's good," Taylor says.

He will be hitting the road again shortly to promote "Ladies' Choice," which was released Tuesday by Peak Records.

"Basically, I didn't go into it with any pre conceived ideas. I just kind of like went into it and let it happen on its own," Taylor says about his seventh CD. "I'm tickled to still be in the game."

The title track captures the vibe from '70s disco parties, when "the DJ stops the music and says , ' All right, this is ladies' choice,' " Taylor says.

The album was produced by R&B and jazz veterans Barry Eastmond and Rex Rideout, who also produced Taylor's "Steppin' Out" and "Nightlife." The vocalists are Regina Belle, La Toya London and Terry Dexter.

All that jazz

Even though the city is rife with great jazz musicians, jazz isn't the music of choice in Las Vegas.

An oasis in this jazz desert is debuting this weekend.

Just Jazz, 1000 E. Sahara Ave., is holding a grand opening Friday and Saturday night , featuring the music of the Marty Mahoney Band and local jazz singer Paris Red.

The club is patterned after the popular '60s Just Jazz Nightclub in Philadelphia.

If the address sounds familiar, it's the former Zingers nightclub.

'Spamalot' power outage

"Monty Python's Spamalot" took an unplanned dark day Monday at Wynn Las Vegas.

Workers at the nearby Encore, Wynn's latest resort under construction, touched a power line that knocked out the power to the theater and several offices, according to a Wynn spokeswoman.

Fans of the musical comedy received refunds or tickets for later shows and a free drink.

Around town

Toto - session musicians turned '80s superstars with hits such as "Hold the Line," "Africa" and "Rosanna " - plays Boulder Station's Railhead at 8 p.m. Saturday ; $27.50 to $62.50; 547-5300 ... Thursday's acoustic show at the House of Blues should be especially interesting with Delisco, winner of reality TV's "The Entertainer , " hosted by Wayne Newton, and Josh Damigo, San Diego singer-songwriter with a new EP , "Pocket Change." "Unplugged," hosted by Michael Soli, begins at 8 p.m. ... Through June , Clark County residents can attend 8 p.m. performances of "ICE: Direct From Russia" at half the regular prices of $59.95 and $69.95. (Versailles Theatre at the Riviera; 794-9433) ... The Tropicana has extended "Bodies ... The Exhibition" and "Titanic: The Artifact Exhibition" through Sept. 3.