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Back in the music business After 15 years of Lodi Night Time Live, producer ready with new series Posted: Thursday, July 22, 2010 12:01 AM, By Tony Sauro, Record Staff Writer Live at W&R What: Summer music series When: Wednesday-Sept. 8 Where: Wine & Roses Hotel Restaurant Spa, 2505 W. Turner Road, Lodi Tickets: $30 to $35 Information: (209) 371-6117 Schedule All shows 7:30 p.m. Wed.: Pete Escovedo Orchestra Aug. 11: Gator Beat Aug. 18: Tom Rigney & Flambeau Sept. 1: Dick Johnson's Mardi Gras Band with Claudette Stone Sept. 8: Jules Broussard Kerner, an interior designer and Lodi resident for 48 years, is back in the music business. His new Live at W&R series continues Wednesday when the Oakland-based Pete Escovedo Orchestra performs at Lodi's Wine & Roses Hotel Restaurant Spa. Four more shows are scheduled there through Sept. 8. The July 14 series debut, a tribute to Doris Day by Sacramento's Laura Didier and Jim Martinez, "was OK," Kerner said. "I'm not sure. It was a decent crowd." Kerner, who turned 75 on April 19 - Escovedo reached that milestone July 13 - produced the successful Lodi Night Time Live concerts for 15 years Escovedo, a Latin-jazz percussionist, was a popular presence. "He was a very big draw," said Kerner, a multi-instrumental musician who fit that description himself in the 1970s as a pianist at Woodbridge Feed and Fuel. "I thought I might want to get him here early. He's celebrating his 75th birthday. So the timing is right." In more ways than one. "If we do what I want to do, I'm probably going to do it year-round," Kerner said. "I've already decided. Of course, it depends on management at Wine & Roses." The renovated Lodi venue's ballroom accommodates 300, nearly the audience size (350) during peak years of Lodi Night Time Live, sponsored by Lodi's Arts Commission. This time, his Marlo Kerner Productions is operating in a profit-making business environment, not volunteering for a nonprofit organization. "We aren't in the range of having $100,000 players," Kerner said. "Jazz musicians are behind in that respect. I'm all for the musicians, and, of course, we want to take care of them. Whatever we can do. "I like the setup. It's really developed. The people at Wine & Roses have done a wonderful job." Les Munson, owner and general manager of Wine & Roses - where San Francisco's late Rudy Tenio (1934-2007) was a longtime jazz piano player and vocalist - was "one of my (Night Time Live) sponsors for a long time," Kerner said. "I've always loved jazz and was a regular for the Night Time Live shows," Munson said. "So the progression seemed natural. We're excited." The shows are scheduled Wednesday nights because Wine & Roses is so busy on weekends, hosting weddings and other events. Kerner's past reliability and connections helped him assemble a list of familiar and dependable acts: Escovedo, Gator Beat, Tom Rigney & Flambeau, Dick Johnson's Mardi Gras Band (with Claudette Stone) and Jules Broussard. "I like to do a variety," Kerner said. "Not all the same kind of thing. But my main focus is more on the jazz part of it. I might even try some classical music. It's a nice setting for cabaret singers, too.

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