You're tempted to label Scott Whitfield and Ginger Berglund a musical odd couple until you examine the depth of their professional relationship.

Whitfield is an Easterner (West Islip, Long Island), a jazz trombonist, singer, composer and former member of the Nat Adderley Sextet who holds a music degree from North Texas State University, a breeding ground for jazz musicians.

Berglund is a Westerner (Pasadena) who studied music at St. Olaf's College in Northfield, Minn., where she developed a pure and powerful voice, requirements for an operatic diva.

Despite their apparent diversities -- and there are others -- a love of all kinds of music serves as a common denominator for the couple. That, and a mutual respect and appreciation for each other's talents. And together they make their act work wonderfully well, as anyone attending their performance Jan. 8 at The Merc in Old Town Temecula will discover.

Ordinarily, they are accompanied by a full rhythm section, but for the Jan. 8 show, it's just pianist Jeff Colella, who is also accompanist for singer Jack Jones.

Although Whitfield and Berglund have been around for a while, their partnership wasn't formed until a little over two years ago, and then it was the product of luck more than design.

"Ginger was looking for someone to arrange some music for her, and a mutual friend, bassist Jennifer Leitham, recommended me," Whitfield said. "It didn't take us long to realize we had a lot in common and that we should form our own act."

Berglund then joined the telephone conversation, adding that because she had worked in a business capacity for songstress Flora Purim, she wound up handling bookings, recording deals and other business matters, which freed Whitfield for composing and arranging.

As for the tandem's tune list tonight, you can count on a heavy dose of music from the Great American Songbook, with both singers at the mic, as well as several of Whitfield's instrumental originals.

However, the arrangements will carry Whitfield's brand -- and for good reason.

"Ginger has such a glorious voice, so why not tailor the tunes to meet her tastes?" Whitfield said.

Whitfield should know a thing or two about vocal arrangements. He formed a hip vocal quartet in 1994 -- the Manhattan Vocal Project -- that sounded like a cross between the Four Freshmen and the Hi-Los. However, the group broke up four years later when Whitfield headed west.

Now that he's in Southern California, the one-time member of the Pied Pipers has formed another vocal group with the unforgettable name of LAVA.

Although they perform as a team, Berglund and Whitfield also work independently.

"You go where the gigs are," said Berglund, who is a member of the Screen Actors Guild and has performed in movies; she also has several business interests. "And as much as I'd like it to be otherwise, those gigs don't always involve both of us."

Berglund has worked with pianist Paul Smith and once toured Los Angeles city schools with the USC Opera Workshop, "where I sang about every aria ever composed." She also developed a career as a jazz singer because of her admiration for singers Joni Mitchell and the aforementioned Purim.

Berglund made her choral debut when she was 15 with Vanity Fair, and she's not likely to forget the event: It was California Gov. Ronald Reagan's inaugural celebration. Was she nervous? Did she feel intimidated?

"Not really," she said. "I was familiar with the material, but I was excited to be a part of the gala."

Fast-forward to the present, and you'll find Berglund singing the second Monday of every month with the Tracy Wells Orchestra at the Alpine Village in Torrance.

Whitfield was quicker to set his sights on becoming a jazz trombonist.

"I was just a kid when I became hooked on my dad's big-band records and particularly the blend the Glenn Miller Orchestra achieved on 'Sunrise Serenade,'" he said. "Since Miller played trombone, I wanted to play one, too."

He took lessons, played the trombone at all school levels and quickly established himself as a top-flight blower when he arrived in New York City in 1993. It didn't take him long to form his own 12-piece jazz orchestra, made up of some of the Big Apple's premier musicians.

But when he split from New York and left his orchestra behind, Whitfield formed a duplicate of the eastern ensemble in Southern California and named it the Scott Whitfield West Coast Jazz Orchestra. At the same time, he also renamed the New York version the Scott Whitfield East Coast Jazz Orchestra.

"It may sound crazy, keeping jazz orchestras on both coasts, but it beats transporting a dozen musicians cross-country just to play a few gigs or tour cities 5,000 miles from their home base," he said.

"It's worked out well. No, I can't be certain the same guys will always be available when I need them, but there's such a huge pool of great musicians in Hollywood and New York, and finding able replacements is no problem at all."

One more question and then out: "When the two of you perform together, who calls the shots?"

First came laughter, and then dead silence as Berglund and Whitfield waited for the other to say something. Berglund finally provided the answer, but with a caveat.

"Scott; he's in charge. However, he always tells me in advance of any changes in an arrangement or tune list," she said.

Another reminder that a woman always has the last word.

Jazz at The Merc: Scott Whitfield and Ginger Berglund

When: 7:30 p.m. Jan. 8

Where: The Merc, Old Town Temecula Community Theater, 42051 Main St., Temecula

Tickets: $15

Info: (866) 653-8696