"I grew up in Palo Alto," Tana said, "and so, as a high school student, in the late '60s, I used to go out there to hear music. And it was Pete Douglas' living room, when they actually got started presenting concerts out there. So I'd go out there and hear John Handy and a number of groups.
"Subsequently, having become a musician, living in New York, I'd come out and play out there with James Moody, The Heath Brothers and Art Farmer. Having moved back here, I've played there with Larry Vuckovich and Rhoda Scott, the organist. I've had a long relationship, both as a listener and as a performer, out there. So it's exciting for me to go out there and bring a band in. It's going to be weird, actually, to talk into a microphone, as opposed to sitting behind an artillery of metal and wood."
His Sunday gig at the Beach House will celebrate the release of his new album, "Kiss Kiss Bang Bang." A follow-up to the "Secret Agent Man" CD of movie and TV themes Tana recorded nearly 20 years ago, this one is a cool collection of many of the best theme songs from James Bond films, such as "Goldfinger," "Live and Let Die" and "You Only Live Twice." Tana wisely enlisted Pacifica's Larry Dunlap to help create swinging jazz arrangements. The band serves up a scintillatingly fresh take on spy soundtrack sounds.
For this weekend's live performance, Tana will have the album's silky vocalist, Nashville's Annie Sellick, on hand. The fine musicians adding energy will be reed player Melecio Magdaluyo, bassist Gary Brown, percussionist Kenneth Nash, Japan's Akiko Tsruruga on Hammond B3 organ and, on guitar, Palo Alto's Jeff Buenz.
Creativity runs in Tana's family. His mother, Tomoe Tana, played koto, the Japanese harp, and wrote poetry.
As a child, Tana took piano and trumpet lessons before finding a home behind the drum kit. He was introduced to jazz early.
"My siblings are much older than I am, and my oldest brother was a big jazz fan. He had all these Modern Jazz Quartet recordings. He used to take me, as a 5- and 6-year-old, to Stanford, to see concerts. So I got to see Louis Armstrong and Ella Fitzgerald, when they used to come to the Bay Area on tour and play at Frost Amphitheatre.
"I recall going to see Duke Ellington. I might have been 7 or 8 years old. I ended up on the stage, helping the drummer pack his drums. That was Rufus 'Speedy' Jones."
While attending Gunn High School, Tana drummed for rock bands that played Stanford mixers. But his attention soon returned to jazz.
"Our bass player had a Miles Davis recording and he couldn't stand it, so he sold it to me for a dollar. It was called 'Miles Smiles.' And it just blew me away. Then 'Bitches Brew' came out and I started going to a lot of jazz concerts, went to the UC-Berkeley Jazz Festival. Bill Graham was introducing jazz acts at the Fillmore. I saw Miles. I remember seeing Charles Lloyd there, opening for Cream and Al Kooper.
"So, while I was in high school, I was wanting to learn more about the music. Jazz was something that was seemed a little bit more sophisticated and a little more creative than what rock 'n' roll was offering to me at the time."
Tana earned a degree in East Asian Studies at Harvard University in 1974. But he also spent a lot of time around the Boston jazz scene. A friend, drummer Billy Hart, recommended that he study with a Berklee teacher who had mentored Tony Williams.
Next, Tana, at the suggestion of drummer Anton Fig (later of David Letterman's house band), studied with Boston Symphony percussionist Dick Firth (now famed for his drumstick line) at the New England Conservatory. While at that prestigious institution, Tana did a two-week tour with jazz legend Sonny Rollins.
"When you play with masters like that," Tana said, "you realize what a commitment they've made to their art form. That's who they are. That's their identity."
While playing in the classical environment of Tanglewood, where conductors included Seiji Ozawa and Leonard Bernstein, Tana was befriended by Wynton Marsalis.
Residing in New York for many years, Tana played with such top talents as Lena Horne, Zoot Sims, Hubert Laws and Milt Jackson. "I feel honored and lucky to have been associated with these players. It's very humbling. You read about them and realize what giants they are. That's been one of my greatest rewards."
Tana, who returned to the Bay Area with wife Marjorie and two children in 1998, doesn't mind veering away from jazz. He collaborated with pop/world music icon Van Dyke Parks on a project. He'll next be heard on a Brazilian album which also features Branford Marsalis and Arturo Sandoval.
"I don't consider myself to be a drummer that's so technically phenomenal, like a Billy Cobham. I'm just someone who enjoys playing different kinds of music. I learned that it was important to be versatile, have an open mind and adapt to different musical environments. There are so many different styles now within what is considered jazz."
Tana, 59, is now producing albums for other artists. He also teaches at San Francisco State, and privately.
"Teaching is a wonderful challenge. You're trying to impart the knowledge you've accumulated. I realize that a lot of these young kids have not seen Art Blakey, Elvin Jones or Dizzy Gillespie.
"I realize, 'Man, you're getting old!'" Tana said with a laugh. "The other challenge is just to keep going and keep growing musically."
Music preview
What: Akira Tana & The Secret Agent Men featuring Annie Sellick
Where: Douglas Beach House, Miramar Beach, 307 Mirada Road,
Half Moon Bay
When: 4:30 p.m. Sunday
Tickets: $35; 650-726-4143,
www.bachddsoc.org
Artist website: www.akiratana.com
I Tunes
For The Daily News
