They were there to see Chick Corea make foot-stomping believers out of those who eschew electronic music.

They were there to hear the bluesy voice of Etta James cry, " I would rather be a blind girl, than to watch you walk away from me." She also does a sterling jazz rendition of "Funny Valentine."

Playboy is always worth the trip, though it unfortunately falls on the same weekend as the very entertaining KCSM jazz festival at the College of San Mateo.

Norvell Hammond of East Palo Alto is a regular at Playboy. "The weather tends to be nicer. Here (locally), you have to have blankets and down jackets," said Hammond, a Postal Service worker at the Stanford station who describes himself as "a Miles (Davis) freak."

Playboy is a no-hassle venue. The crowd is happy and cooperative and the staffers chatty. Fans haul coolers of drinks and food and sit in the sun and mellow out.

Referring to the restrictions at some Northern California music events, Hammond said, "This festival treats you like an adult. And all the years I've gone, I've never seen a problem ... no fights, no bad words." His dream now is to go to "the ultimate one ...Montreux, Switzerland," he said.

In another sunny perch was Robert Shoffner of Redwood City, who is president of Citibank for California and Nevada. With Kenny Burrell and Ray Barretto performing a Latin tribute to Duke Ellington, Shoffner said he returns for the good music and to see friends. Music just might be in his blood. His grandfather played with the Louis Armstrong and King Oliver bands, and his grandmother accompanied Billie Holiday, he said.

Every festivalgoer's quest is to get a better seat. Wearing a white straw hat, partly for style and partly for sun, Jose Archimede of Pacifica solved that problem for more than 50 Bay Area jazz fans in prime seats around him. He expanded his small group of friends by setting up a Website at...www.jazz-man.com ... and making a group purchase. That netted closer seats.

Said Archimede, a former professional guitarist who is now a medical marketing consultant, "The friendship and kinship we hold with the people in our group is good, and for me the entire event gets an A-plus."

One person who joined his group this year was Morgan Banks, a Santa Clara personal trainer who has attended the past 13 years. "The seats were great after so many years of being up in the nosebleed section," she said. The event becomes a pleasant habit. Last week, she was lying on a beach during a visit to Hawaii, where she grew up, and thinking about the Los Angeles trip. "I know that sounds crazy," she said with a laugh.

Also in the Archimede group was Stan Padilla, a San Francisco physician and musician who loves Brazilian jazz. Padilla had a callus on each hand ... one for the pandiero and the other for the guiro percussion instruments.

As the sun sank behind the hill, the silver and black deco pattern of the bowl, in collusion with the rainbow hues of stage lights, made the night shows as magical as the day shows. And there were "stars" ...Terence Blanchard, George Duke, Jon Hendricks reuniting with Annie Ross, Jesus "Chucho" Valdes, Ray Charles, Pete Escovedo, Nancy Wilson and more.

There also were some poignant absences from the great roll call ... a coda, the program noted in tribute. Mel Torme, gone. Frank Sinatra, gone. And Joe Williams at 80, making his exit as he said he would: "Going to Chicago. Sorry, but I can't take you."

From the June 16,1999 San Jose Mercury News, article by Loretta Green ... lgreen@sjmercury.com