Cook works and plays around town

Dane Cook's been ubiquitous since showing up here to shoot "Bachelor No. 2." Friday, the antic Arlingtonian was among the VIPs enjoying the Justin Timberlake show. (Others in audience included Cook's costar Kate Hudson, Good Charlotte singer Joel Madden's famished fiancee Nicole Richie, and Celtic Tony Allen.) Saturday, Cook dropped into the Comedy Connection, where he performed an impromptu, 45-minute set with headliner Jeffrey Ross. (Club owner Bill Blumenreich and DJ Fast Freddy were in the front row.) Cook was out and about again last night (at left), checking out David Beckham's Boston debut from the comfort of the Krafts' box at Gillette Stadium. Also enjoying the soccer stud's no-show were Celts Ray Allen and Glen "Big Baby" Davis, Hudson, and actor Jason Biggs.

Locking horns over record snub

Hanging backstage at the JVC Jazz Festival, Bruce Hornsby confessed that bigshot bassist Charlie Haden is a little angry with him. Hornsby, who hit it big with the saccharine single "The Way It Is," has just released a jazz album with bassist Christian McBride and drummer Jack DeJohnette. The problem, said Hornsby, is that Haden wanted to play on the record, called "Camp Meeting." "Charlie Haden's still [miffed] at me," he said. McBride, sitting next to Hornsby after their Newport set, heard this but didn't know what to make of it. "Apparently [Hornsby] just admitted I was the second call," he said. No, insisted Hornsby, trying to clear the air. "He was the second call. You were the first call." Oh, great, that should make Haden even happier.

Cole doesn’t miss a beat with Pops

Performing with the Pops proved to be no problem for consummate pro Natalie Cole. Indeed, Nat King's kin has rarely sounded so sweet as she did with Keith Lockhart's orchestra. (The pair performed Saturday in Nantucket and on Martha's Vineyard yesterday.) "It's not really the show we've been doing," said Cole (above with Lockhart), who's just back from a European tour. "But it's the Pops, so I'm like, 'Just give me the mike, and let's go.' " The songstress gentled the crowd with rhythms so sultry that many fans may have felt they were in a supper club, not Jetties Beach. Familiar faces in the crowd included emcee Tim Russert, Pats owner Bob Kraft, Senate prez Therese Murray, architect Graham Gund, Matthews Ventures owner Bob Matthews and wife Mia, and Fidelity Investments's Abigail Johnson, whose billion-dollar smile belied the stock market's free fall. (With us, at least, Ned Johnson's daughter earned points by opting for a seat that afforded her tablemates the best view of the stage.) Cole, who was joined at yesterday's show by the great Branford Marsalis, told us it was a treat to be on the islands. She said she's had Massachusetts on her mind ever since attending UMass-Amherst. "Basically," Cole said. "That's where my career got started."

Chase’s gig is no ‘Vacation’

Chevy Chase was his usual standoffish self backstage after Dave Brubeck's set at the jazz fest. We asked Chase -- the onetime "SNL" star who played Clark Griswold in the "Vacation" movies -- why he was handling the emcee duties at Newport. "I was asked," he said grumpily. But he loosened up a bit, explaining that he's played piano for years and was good friends with legendary jazz pianist Bill Evans. (Before he could finish the story, Chase was approached by a little girl. "Hello, Mr. Griswold," she said. The comedian was not amused.) But Chase did offer this tantalizing tidbit: He's talked to Lorne Michaels about rejoining the cast of "SNL" just in time for the presidential election. "I'd get in there and raise a little heck," said the loopy lefty.

Nantucket nabobs George Cloutier and Tiffany Spadafora held a fund-raiser for Senate prez Therese Murray yesterday. The crowd included former Bank of America bigshot Chad Gifford, "Cheers" owner Tom Kershaw, John Kerry's confidante Bob Crowe, Debbie Lewis of 29 Newbury, and Sal Tecce of the new and improved North End restaurant Joe Tecce's.

Shared Secret

Medford's own Maria Menounos joined a medley of models at Victoria's Secret's "Secret Garden" party in Sag Harbor over the weekend. Making the scene were, from left, models Miranda Kerr, Selita Ebanks, Menounos, and Karolina Kurkova.

Checking on canine pals

Dog-lover Marc Roberge (near left) of O.A.R. met some pups rehabilitated by the Animal Rescue League of Boston before his band's Tweeter Center show.

Steve Greenlee of the Globe staff contributed. Names can be reached at names@globe.com or at 617-929-8253.