Clark Terry Celebrates

Hal McKusick will wish his friend and fellow jazzman Clark Terry a happy birthday in a jazz concert Saturday night at the Old Whaler's (Sag Harbor Presbyterian) Church. The concert, which is the next in the Sag Harbor Jazz Festival series, features Mr. Terry as the guest soloist.

A trumpet legend whose roots stretch back to the Count Basie and Duke Ellington bands, Mr. Terry wowed the audience at the first festival, in 1994. This time around should be even better, Mr. McKusick said.

"He'll be playing trumpet and flugelhorn and shouting the blues, and we'll be leaning on him, since it's his birthday." Mr. Terry turns 76 on Saturday.

Big Bad Band

This concert will be the fifth since the festival was founded. The trumpet player Art Farmer and the vocalist Jonathan Hendricks are among past special guests.

Mr. Terry began his career in the Big Band era, playing with the Duke and the Count, and went on to lead his own unit, Clark Terry's Big Bad Band, for a number of years. He continues to play regularly.

"He loved it here," said Mr. McKusick of the trumpet legend's first visit to the Whaler's Church. "He loved the sound and he loved the response of the crowd. There's a unique vibration in there."

Tight Rhythm

Mr. McKusick's quartet on Saturday will feature the sought-after Don Friedman on piano and two new faces to the festival: Akira Tana on drums and Sante Dibriano on bass. The three musicians recently returned from Japan, where they played as a trio.

"So we have a pretty tight rhythm section," Mr. McKusick observed.

He leads the quartet on saxophone. They performs classic jazz from the likes of Charlie Parker, Thelonius Monk, Bill Evans, and Duke Ellington.

Tickets for Saturday's concert, at $25 each, can be purchased in advance at Long Island Sound and Book Hampton branches, as well as Sylvester & Co. and Kramoris Gallery in Sag Harbor. Tickets will be available at the door as well.