Vibraphonist Dave Pike, shown here in New York, has lived and performed all over the world. At this weekend's University of Pittsburgh Jazz Seminar and Concert, he'll reunite with Nathan Davis, with whom he played when they were both expatriates in Europe in the '60s.

By Nate Guidry, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Vibraphonist Dave Pike is still sleepy from an extended flight from Japan. His voice trails in and out of the telephone with the sound of someone who hasn't had much rest.

		University of Pittsburgh Jazz Seminar and Concert Where: Carnegie Music Hall, Oakland. When: 8 p.m. Saturday. Tickets: $18; $8 for students with valid ID; 412-323-1919.

"I'm sorry," he says, from his home in Orange County, Calif. "I'm still trying to get myself together.

For the past month, Pike has been touring Japan, a country he first visited in the 1960s.

"Japan is awesome," said Pike. "I think Japan has surpassed Northern Europe when it comes to jazz appreciation. Northern Europe used to be the hottest area for jazz, far above America. Japan has surpassed Europe, even in the little towns. Fans lined up and had me sign some of my old albums. It was nice to be able to have that kind of appreciation. And the Japanese musicians have really improved over the past 20 years. They have become fluent in the language of jazz. They don't speak English, but we are on the same page musically."

Pike is hoping he'll have that same kind of appreciation in Pittsburgh when he performs during the 36th University of Pittsburgh Jazz Seminar and Concert. The longest-running event of its kind in the country, the Pitt program also features free lectures and demonstrations. Other musicians participating in this year's event are Pittsburgh native and guitarist Ron Affif, trumpeters Oscar Brashear and Jimmy Owen, drummer Winard Harper, bassist Abraham Laboriel, pianist Patrice Rushen, flautist Nester Torres and saxophonist Donald Harrison.

They'll perform under the direction of Dr. Nathan Davis, saxophonist and head of Pitt's Jazz Studies Program and founder of the annual event.

Pike has recorded more than 25 albums and has performed with everyone from Pittsburgh's Horace Parlan to Ornette Coleman.

"I have been all over the world, but I have never been to Pittsburgh," he said. "I haven't seen Nathan since the late 1960s when he was still in Paris. I lived in Europe for years, and I met Nathan then. It will be a reunion for us. We worked together with Kenny Clarke and Sahib Shihab. That was a wonderful band."

Pike was born in Detroit, but moved to Hollywood, Calif., at a young age. In 1956, at the age of 18, he released his first recording, "Gene Norman presents the Jazz Couriers."

Later, he explored his avant-garde side, performing with Charlie Haden, Don Cherry, Charles Lloyd and Ornette Coleman.

"I didn't feel comfortable in that vein," said Pike. "In 1955, I met Milt Jackson and that just changed things for me."

Jackson introduced Pike to bebop music.

"I started playing bebop over all rhythms," continued Pike. "I've had all kinds of bands and played all kinds of music, but I always came back to bebop."

In 1961, Pike began a five-year association with flautist Herbie Mann, performing on such recordings as "Family of Mann" and "Live at the Village Gate." During this time, Pike also recorded "Pike's Peak" and "Manhattan Latin, The Dave Pike Orchestra" with Chick Corea and Hubert Laws.

After leaving Mann, Pike joined the Elvin Jones Trio. He was also leading his own trio that featured Jaki Byard and Bobby Timmons at a New York club called the "Top of the Gate."

In the middle 1960s, Pike moved to Europe where he worked as a musician for the West German government.

"I traveled all around the world performing with my band," he said. "I got to see the world without having to be a tourist."

In the mid 1970s, Pike moved back to California and opened "Hungry Joe's," a jazz club. During this period, Pike also worked as a soloist in Nelson Riddle's Paramount Studio Orchestra. "I found a club that was about five minutes from my house on the beach, and I turned it into a jazz club. The place was packed every night."

After three years, Pike was lured back to New York where he was signed to Muse Records. He recorded several seminal recordings, including "On a Gentle Note" and "Time Out of Mine" featuring Kenny Burrell."

Then he moved to Belgium, where he lived above a club he owned. While there, he performed with Horace Parlan.

"Horace was a great inspiration for me," said Pike. "I had been in an accident where I severely fractured my wrist. Horace had polio as kid. Horace is a wonderful piano player. "

And so is Pike.

"Music is very structured," he said. "If you are serious, it takes a lifetime to master it. I'm just trying to keep this music alive until I can't. Lionel Hampton played the vibraphone until he couldn't stand up anymore."