2006 was a tough year in many respects: We lost some real icons from the local music scene. Jazz singer and disc jockey Peggy Claire, jazz saxophonist Hollis Gentry III, and musician and journalist Buddy "Blue" Seigal all died this past year; each left far too soon.

But it was also a year that saw some truly wonderful new musical talent emerging in the county . Steph Johnson (whom Seigal was championing before his too-soon leaving), Julie Mack, Kim DiVine, Marie Haddad, Paige Aufhammer and Sara Petite all released strong debut albums. Chelsea Flor established herself on the local scene and assembled a new band; Josh Damigo carved a strong local rep for himself, while This Holiday Life and the Wild Truth issued some of the best pop music this county has produced. And the region found itself on the global map when Eric Clapton and Valley Center's J.J. Cale released an album titled "Road to Escondido," much of which the two men reportedly rehearsed at Cale's.

LOCAL MUSICIANS WEIGH IN Tim Flannery, Leucadia (and new San Francisco Giants third-base coach) San Diego musician I'll most miss getting to hear during the season: "I will miss Randi Driscoll the most . she has been my singing partner for eight years, and during baseball season our duets aren't the same when I sing them without her."

And it was a year during which several veteran musicians came back to the fore to reassert their proper role in San Diego's music scene. From Seigal's beloved band the Farmers regrouping and forging ahead as a trio, through Rusty Jones . former guitarist for the Monroes . coming out of a 15-year musical hiatus and performing again, to Cindy Lee Berryhill going into the recording studio for the first time in a decade (and already giving us something to look forward to in 2007), it was a rich year for longtime fans and the musical heroes of their youth.

It was also a year that saw North County gaining a larger, stronger presence in the local music scene. The Jumping Turtle in San Marcos kicked up the quality and quantity of its bookings, with punk pioneers TSOL the best-known of many national acts headlining a show there. Hot Rod Harris continued to nurture the live music performances at Hot Java Cafe in Carmel Mountain Ranch, and a couple of local musicians became producers when they started booking shows over the summer at the THEATRX community theater in Escondido. And the Belly Up Tavern in Solana Beach continued its run as an important stop on the A-list roadhouse circuit, bringing in top-level acts in rock, blues, reggae, world beat and other styles.

For all the growth and positive developments, though, the past year was sadly one of significant local loss.

LOCAL MUSICIANS WEIGH IN Steph Johnson, Encinitas Although my band rocks, I wish I was a member of: "Transfer or Dirty Sweet . they're good, like a movie good."

Claire at least had time to say goodbye to her fans and listeners. The longtime on-air host at KSDS-FM Jazz 88 and popular jazz singer had a farewell concert at Humphrey's Backstage Lounge in the spring of 2005 that she had organized when diagnosed with terminal lung cancer a few months before. She hung on for another year and then some, though, beating most any actuarial table out there. Last December, already frail from the sickness, Peggy went to hear her good friend Daniel Jackson play piano at the Prince of Wales Room at the Hotel Del. He coaxed one last song out of her, and for the four or five of us in the room, it was a lovely, magical moment.

There was a time that Gentry was one of the best-known musicians in San Diego County. As co-leader of the Bruce Cameron-Hollis Gentry Jazz Ensemble, Gentry was atop the local music heap in the early '80s. When the Cameron-Gentry Ensemble played, there were lines outside the Old P.B. Cafe waiting to get in. And when the Padres went to their first World Series in 1984, it was Cameron, on trumpet, and Gentry, on sax, playing the national anthem before the first World Series game played here. Within a few years, though, Cameron had left the band he had founded, and Gentry and the other remaining members renamed themselves Fattburger. Gentry left after the band's first album, forming a new band, Neon. Fattburger, of course, went on to national renown, remaining one of the most popular smooth jazz combos in the world a quarter century later . with much of the same lineup Cameron and Gentry put together.

LOCAL MUSICIANS WEIGH IN Julie Mack, Encinitas Local celebrity I'd most like to have at one of my shows: "LaDainian Tomlinson."

Losing Gentry this summer to cancer was to lose a huge chunk of our local musical history.

Unlike Gentry and Claire, Seigal never got a chance to say goodbye. Felled by a failed heart, Seigal's loss was as unexpected as it was sudden . and left the local music scene without one of its great champions. Co-founder of the Beat Farmers, leader of the Jacks and a series of jump-blues and jazz combos under his stage name of Buddy Blue, Seigal was also a longtime writer about music, at the Orange County Weekly, the old San Diego Evening Tribune, and most recently the San Diego Union-Tribune. Nobody wrote with more blunt honesty than Seigal about his likes and dislikes . or made the reading so fun.

He was a treasure.

Following are one music fan's favorite moments and achievements of the past year; those who also follow the local music scene, who get out and take in the efforts of the hundreds of talented musicians who get up onstage each and every night to play for us, will have their own faves (and are encouraged to go to our Web site at www.nctimes.com and add them to this admittedly subjective list via the Comments tool at the bottom).

LOCAL MUSICIANS WEIGH IN Rusty Jones, Encinitas: Local band I'd most like to be a member of: "Steph Johnson: I want to be in that band!"

Favorite local albums:

• "Genesee Avenue" . Steph Johnson Band
  Think pop chanteusse Sade sitting in with an uptempo funk/jazz band . vintage Little Feat, maybe, or War.

• "Tiger Mountain" . Sara Petite
  It's bluegrass, country and folk played with a punk attitude . as if the Pogues hailed from West Virginia instead of Ireland.

• "Love Made Me Drunk" . Gregory Page
  Page turned out an album of dark-hued salon songs that remind of a back alley in Buenos Aires, Athens or Paris. Pure magic.

• "Friction" . This Holiday Life
  The kind of pure power-pop fun that the Finn Brothers have made a career with. Decadent ear candy, from right here in San Diego County.

LOCAL MUSICIANS WEIGH IN Sven-Erik Seaholm, Del Mar Local album from 2006 that I didn't produce but wish I had: "Buddy Blue's next solo record. It would've been an amazing slide dobro blues disc."

• "This Golden Era" . The Wild Truth
  Sven-Erik Seaholm and his bandmates comprise another top-notch power-pop combo with great hook-filled songs that get stuck in your head. Easily the equal of anything the national labels put out this year.

• "Hummingbird" . Kim DiVine
  Only a six-song EP, but packed with more should-be hits than most any full-length release from the national labels. "Home (Stickin' Around)" will stick around your head the first time you hear it.

Favorite local songs:

• "Slow Brew" . Julie Mack.
  If only radio DJs still picked the songs they played, this would have been a major radio hit. Maybe the perfect pop song.

LOCAL MUSICIANS WEIGH IN Michael Tiernan, Del Mar Local act the rest of us should check out: "Lee Coulter, an Aussie transplant to San Diego via Lake Tahoe. He's genuine and passionate about his music; he's ambitious yet humble; his music is a great mix of acoustic dance pop and R&B, with plenty of satire and fun thrown in. He's not well-known yet, but he should be."

• "Hazy" . Stephanie Cataldo.
  Mostly absent from the live music scene, Cataldo nonetheless issued a five-song EP that contained an absolute gem of a pop nugget in "Hazy." Infectious melody, great hook, wonderful arrangement. Still can't get it out of my head.

• "True Love" . Steph Johnson
  Starts off like an old-timey gospel piece, then builds up into a masterpiece of funk-rock fusion with a powerhouse message about self-respect. You'll want a big-girl or big-boy drink after listening to this song.

• "Song for Buddy Blue" . Gregory Page.
  The best send-off any musician could hope for: a classic ode by one of his hometown's best songwriters.

• "When Did Jesus Become a Republican?" . Cindy Lee Berryhill
  You surely don't have to agree with the specific point of view expressed in the song's lyrics to celebrate Cindy Lee Berryhill getting back to writing the kind of in-your-face folk songs that made her such a refreshing presence in our local music scene in the first place.

LOCAL MUSICIANS WEIGH IN Paige Aufhammer, Encinitas Local band I'd most like to cover one of my songs: "It'd be fun to hear Derren Raser cover one of my songs. His sound is so great he'd probably put a really cool twist/spin on my songs. … I'd love it so, so much, though, if the bands Over the Rhine or Hem would cover one of my songs. That'd be a dream."

• "Vicodin" . Buddy Blue
  Buddy's last song, captured on tape during one of his final acoustic duo performances with fellow Farmer Jerry Raney at the Parkway Bar in La Mesa last spring. There should have been so many more songs from Buddy's pen.

Favorite musical read:

• "Meet Me With Your Black Drawers On" by Jeannie Cheatham
  San Diego's queen of jazz turned out a wholly self-written autobiography of her half-century in music. From her childhood in Akron, Ohio, to her early days playing piano behind Jimmy Rushing, Dakota Stanton and Big Mama Thornton, to her marriage to Jimmy and subsequent moves to Madison, Wis., and then San Diego, Jeannie's book traces a life steeped in a love for music. It's a must-read for any fan of jazz or anyone interested in the area's music history.

Favorite all-ages venue:

LOCAL MUSICIANS WEIGH IN Tristan Prettyman, Encinitas Local musician whose music most grabs my ear: "Oh so many to choose from … Anya Marina, Greg Laswell, Gregory Page, Molly Jensen, hmm …"

• Hot Java Cafe . Carmel Mountain Ranch
  The focus is squarely on the music and the musicians. Hot Rod Harris does an outstanding job of bringing in quality local musicians for what is basically an unpaid gig. The setting is warm and friendly, the acoustics good enough. But it's the relaxed intimacy . both the physical kind from the small size of the venue, and the emotional kind, from the ambience Harris has created . that make this one of the best places in North County to hear your favorite local musician.

Favorite musical moments:

LOCAL MUSICIANS WEIGH IN Joel Rafael, Valley Center Local musician I most wish was in my band: "I would have to say J.J. Cale, because I'm a huge fan and he lives just down the road from me."

Jeannie and Jimmy Cheatham winning the Lifetime Achievement Award at the San Diego Music Awards

The area's vibrant and growing jazz scene can be traced almost directly to two developments: The decision of San Diego City College to change its KSDS radio station to an all-jazz format in 1973, and the arrival of the Cheathams in the mid-'70s. Their long-running Sunday evening jam sessions at the downtown Sheraton and, later, Bahia on Mission Bay nurtured a nascent jazz community up through the mid-1980s. Their string of successful albums on Concord Records, the first of which included their now-classic hit "Meet Me With Your Black Drawers On," made people realize that something pretty wild was going on down here. And how many local musicians came through the UCSD jazz program under Jimmy's stewardship.

• Tribute to Buddy Blue held at the Belly Up on May 4.
  This was the show I wish we'd never had to have, yet I was grateful for the chance to say farewell to someone who meant so much to the local music scene . someone who encouraged younger musicians to believe in themselves, who made sure veteran musicians got their due. He was also someone who encouraged me in my own writing about music, and became as much a friend as a colleague and sometimes rival. Dave Alvin leading Blue's old band, the Farmers, through a rousing rendition of "Beat Generation" a la Blue's late, lamented fellow Farmer Country Dick Montana that night was a much-needed salve.

• Becky's House Fundraiser at the Ould Sod, Oct. 22
  You ever get the opportunity to see Steph Johnson, Sara Petite and Cindy Lee Berryhill in one show, take it. When you throw in Chelsea Flor, Regina Dawn, Joannie Mendenhall, Saba, Arabella Harrison, Annie Dru, Dee Ray, Molly Meekin, Evan Bethany and Molly Jenson .- well, maybe only about 75 people were there, but they saw one of the best shows of the year.

LOCAL MUSICIANS WEIGH IN Sara Watkins (Nickel Creek), Carlsbad: My best 2006 San Diego musical moment: "Probably watching Radiohead at the Embarcadero."

• Hearing Jim McInnes on KSDS-FM Jazz 88
  You realize how much creativity goes into being a top disc jockey when one of the very best gets the kind of on-air freedom provided at KSDS, where the DJs still get to pick their own song lists, get to choose what gets played. No disrespect at all to the many fine volunteer hosts at Jazz 88 who teach me something new every time I tune in, but JM is one of the giants of local radio. And while McInnes may be new to jazz after spending the first half of his career in rock 'n' roll, he's learning quickly . and we listeners are having a gas listening along to his jazz education. You just know John Leslie is digging it from above.