Communal Vibes

If you like your restaurant staffs rude and absolutely detest getting into places for free, then don’t go to Rocco Ristorante.

The cool Italian restaurant/jazz bar on Beverly Glen Circle is fast developing a following among average Valleyites and Westsiders, as well as such Hollywood notables as Warren Beatty, Clint Eastwood and Adam Sandler.

If you appreciate the kind of place where the name on the sign actually belongs to the owner--and he actually can spare a minute to say hello--then Rocco may be for you.

The good vibes stem from owner Rocco Somazzi, a Swiss-born 27-year-old with no prior restaurant experience who decided a year ago to open an establishment dedicated to what he loves most--jazz.

“Jazz creates an atmosphere where people can meet each other,” Somazzi rhapsodized on a recent Wednesday evening from behind the green-and- violet-lit bar area. “Jazz is like a community.”

He confesses that “the jazz club is definitely the main focus for me--the restaurant part of Rocco’s is just like a day job.”

The fact that Somazzi does not generally charge a cover for entrance into the piano bar is not an oversight. If he charged an “arm and a leg,” as he says other local jazz venues do, then young people simply wouldn’t come. Although Somazzi is happy with his growing list of over-30 regulars, it’s something of a mission for him to expose his peers to the art form.

“[A cover] just doesn’t feel right,” Somazzi said. He makes up the difference by asking performers to take a reduced fee or, barring that, he occasionally charges $5 at the door.

Somazzi’s passion for the place has won him approval from customers such as Joseph Domnich of Sherman Oaks.

“It’s a great, great place,” said Domnich, a sixtysomething investment broker. “I come here once a week at least.”

Domnich said the club has also broadened his social circle.

“Jazz people are not snobs,” he said. “I’ve made friends here. I’m from St. Petersburg, Russia, and a couple of weeks ago, a piano player suddenly starts a Russian tune. It turns out his parents were Russian actors! Now I talk to him on the phone and am going to see him play in Torrance.”

For Tony Dumas of Valley Village, Rocco’s location tucked away off a canyon road is part of its appeal.

“You get out of the Valley,” said the 45-year-old musician, who sometimes performs at the club. “The air’s nicer, and you have this sense of being in the mountains.”

Anita Keys, 55, of Santa Monica, said she chose to return to Rocco over local rivals.

“The Jazz Bakery’s too pure for me--no alcohol! And Catalina Bar & Grill is too expensive,” said Keys, the publications consultant for the Getty Center. “I also used to go to Lunaria, but here, it’s a good deal. The room is laid out in a way that you can relate to the musicians and the parking’s easy. It’s just a cool spot.”

Somazzi said he feels that he is reaching his goal of creating a “music lover’s paradise.”

BE THERE

Rocco Ristorante, 2930 Beverly Glen Circle, Bel-Air. The piano bar features live jazz performances Monday-Saturday evenings. Upcoming performances include the Alan Pasqua Trio on Aug. 4 and Latin jazz from the Bobby Matos Quintet on Aug. 6. Showtime is 9:30 p.m. weekdays and 10 p.m. on weekends. Full menu available at the bar until 11 p.m. $5 cover on selected evenings. (310) 475-9807.