Van Morrison

IT'S A LITTLE after 6 on a perfect evening at the Inner Harbor when the great Jr. Cline and the Recliners launch into Van Morrison's "Moondance," the familiar chords echoing across the still water, inviting an entire downtown to grab a beer and let go of another steamy workday. Tonight's gig is the annual deck-opening party at McCormick & Schmick's. Around patio tables heaped with crab cakes and steamed crabs, preppy guys with cell phones clipped to their belts sip Coronas with lime, and women in sundresses laugh and puff Virginia Slims menthols.

FILM 'This is It' : In life, Michael Jackson was anything but subdued. So it's no surprise that his theatrical sendoff will be the biggest thing (and pretty much the only thing) at the box office this week. "High School Musical" director Kenny Ortega leads a behind-the-scenes look at the King of Pop's final days. In theaters Wednesday. CONCERT Jay-Z: : Fresh off his latest album, "The Blueprint 3," the reigning king of hip-hop is on tour this fall, mostly hitting college towns, but Baltimore has also made the cut. We may have Hopkins and Towson to thank for a rare big-name show without the D.C. drive.

Hometown: Baltimore Current members: Juanita Paul, vocals; Carl Rosetti, chromatic harmonica; John Seay, guitar; Paul Iwancio; guitar, vocals. Founded in: 1997 Style: Folk/rock/pop Influenced by: Van Morrison, Smokey Robinson, Robbie Robertson. Notable: Iwancio (pronounced eye-wan-see-oh), is the founder and president of the Baltimore Songwriters Association. Quotable: Iwancio on components of a well-written song: M-tIf it is catchy, or memorable in some way. If it grabs you, keeps your attention and gives you some kind of story.

TONY SCOTT, 85 Jazz musician, photographer Tony Scott, a clarinetist, composer and arranger who worked with such greats as Billie Holiday and Charlie Parker, died Wednesday. Mr. Scott died in Rome, where he had lived for decades, according to a statement from the Italian center for the promotion of jazz. Mr. Scott, who also played the saxophone, worked with many of the greatest jazz musicians over a career that spanned decades, playing with Dizzy Gillespie, Duke Ellington and Sarah Vaughan.

This morning, sweethearts around the nation are greeting each other with flowers, candy and colorful nicknames. Some may coo "pooh," others sigh "mama-san," and still others call to their "tenderoni."But a majority of lovers will fall back on words that trip off the lips -- words which recall happy, fulfilling and vaguely forbidden times. They are the bywords of poets from Shakespeare to Van Morrison.Words like "sugar," "honey," "muffin" and "cupcake," the sweet words of love."Sweetness in love is most dramatically revealed in English and German," said Sidney Mintz, a cultural anthropologist at the Johns Hopkins University.

THE WOMEN of St. Andrews Episcopal Church in Pasadena will be busy tomorrow morning picking through pounds of crab meat to get ready for Sunday's crab cake and chicken dinner to raise money for new hymnals.The dinner -- which includes two vegetables, dessert, coffee and tea -- will be served from noon to 5 p.m. at the church, 7859 Tick Neck Road. Homemade goodies from the bake table also will be for sale.Tickets, available at the door, are $12 for adults, and $6 for children, 6 to 12. Children 5 and younger can eat for free.

Ask Paddy Moloney what he and the Chieftains have been up to lately, and you'll quickly learn that there's no short answer to the question. It isn't that the Dublin-born Moloney is unduly blessed with the Irish gift of gab; it just takes awhile to get through everything.This band has always had a heavy schedule. Never mind the albums -- there are 22 of Irish traditional music so far, with two more ready for 1991 release. There's also the Chieftains' career in the cinema, having provided the score to such films as "Barry Lyndon," "The Grey Fox," "Tristan and Isolde" and the upcoming "Treasure Island."

It wasn't scandalous by tabloid standards, but it was a rebellious act for the young women at the Mount Saint Dominic Academy, a small all-girls Catholic high school in New Jersey. Whitney Houston, class of 1981, sometimes wore mismatched socks and rolled up her sleeves. The mischievous gospel singer would then push the maroon-colored dress code just a bit further. She would "roll up her little skirt, just a little bit above the knees, and wouldn't care if she got a detention," said Dr. Maria Pane, who lives in Lutherville and sat next to Houston in high school home room.

AS A BOY, I was taught to be humble and not bring undue attention to myself, and so it is with some hesitancy that I write about my recent singing gig with the great Jr. Cline and the Recliners.If you were there at Bohager's, the new Valhalla of rock on Eden Street, you know it was a magical evening -- a terrific rhythm and blues band somehow overcoming the thin, nasally voice of a beefy, middle-aged newspaperman masquerading as their lead singer.As to exactly how this gig came about, well, it's a story that's almost eerie in the unfolding.

It used to be that the pop-music business ran in predictable, seasonal cycles. In the first few months of the year, the emphasis was on "baby bands," the new groups that needed exposure and word-of-mouth to build an audience. Then, as winter rolled into spring, the road bands - mainly hard rockers and veteran acts - flooded the stores with albums they would promote through lengthy summer tours. Once the weather warmed up, the stress would shift to singles, as every act with a potential summer hit fought for time on the radio.