The members of Fatt- burger know a good thing when they hear it.
"We were just lucky enough to be in the right place at the right time," said Kevin Koch, the drummer in the funky smooth jazz band.
That would have been 24 years ago in San Diego, when five straight-ahead jazz musicians working mostly in the fusion world decided they would forget about being serious. They would put together a jazz band just to have fun.
Their sound was an instant citywide hit: a good portion of Latin, a healthy side of blues, with lots of percussion and immediate danceability. There was loads of improvisation, too, based on a more organic, less digital electronic approach.
The band found fame so fast that it didn't even have a name yet.
"We were just a house band when we started," Koch remembered. But the guys had written some songs, and one of the most popular was "Fatburger," inspired by a popular San Diego restaurant where the band members liked to hang out.
People are also reading…
"Everybody we knew kept saying, 'Call the band "Fatburger,"' so finally we did," Koch said. "It was just a little mom-and-pop place. They loved our music, and we loved their food."
Then one of those corporate operations bought Fatburger and turned it into a California chain of Fatburgers. The corporation sued the band Fatburger for having the same name!
"We hired a lawyer and worked it out by adding an extra 't' to our name," Koch said. "We've even played for the opening of a Fatburger in Los Angeles. But we don't go to the one in San Diego anymore. They have some of our songs on their jukebox, though."
But 1 1/2 years ago, the good times came to an end when the band's personable pianist and stage personality, Carl Evens, died. Fatt- burger didn't break up exactly, but it didn't book any more gigs. The silence was deafening.
After a few months, the band began reorganizing with pianist Allan Phillips. All the other players stayed the same.
"It's hard to imagine we are still together," Koch said. "There's just that special chemistry of musicians with all the right temperament. Everyone respects each other. Everyone believes we're better together than apart."
They spent a year stirring all the Fattburger ingredients together again while playing gigs around San Diego, then began stretching out to festivals in Las Vegas and Los Angeles. An East Coast tour is set for this month.
"So far, it's like nothing has changed," said Koch, sounding a little bit amazed. "Audiences still respond, just like always.
"People who remember the old band will miss Carl, but we're still after the same sound we always had."
Preferring not to get involved in the smooth-jazz versus straight-ahead-jazz discussion, Koch agrees the Fattburger sound fits more into the smooth-jazz category.
"But there's a lot of room for improvising, too. I'd say we have a smooth-jazz groove that's maintained with a straight-ahead-jazz mentality."
If you go
• Fattburger
• Presented by: Tucson Jazz Society.
• Where: Loews Ventana Canyon, 7000 N. Resort Drive.
• When: 7 p.m. Sunday.
• Tickets: $35 general admission, $25 for Jazz Society members, $20 for students.
• Details, reservations: www.tucsonjazz.org or 903-1265.
• Etcetera: Loews has a ganga deal going on - two Fattburger tickets and a room for that night for $129. That breaks down to a $59 room rate at the tony resort.
Chuck Graham has written about the Tucson arts scene for 35 years. To read more of his arts coverage, go online to Let the Show Begin at www.tucsonstage.com
