Playing with Another Horn Person

Last night I moseyed over to Noto’s in Cascade and sat in with Kathy Lamar, Bob VanStee, and Bobby Thompson. Kathy is a fantastic vocalist, and with Bob on keyboards and Bobby on drums, she has a rhythm accompaniment with abilities equal to her own. In recent months I’ve popped in a few times and joined in, and I’ve always enjoyed myself, but never more than last night.

It had been a while since I’d made it out to Noto’s, and I thought I’d call my friend Dave DeVos and see if he wanted to join me out there. He did, and when I walked through the door he was already there, setting up his electric bass. Even better, Dan Jacobs was there with his fluegelhorn, which created a format I’m particularly fond of.

This was my first acquaintance with Dan, but I’d heard of him and had touched base with him on Facebook. Dan is an accomplished player, and sharing the stage with someone of his caliber is a joy. I love to hear what another capable instrumentalist is doing; that fresh influx of inventiveness and technique tweaks my creativity, suggests new ideas to try, and overall kicks me in the butt. Best of all is the interpersonal exchange, the trading fours and switching back and forth between melody and improvised counterpoints, that kind of thing.

As an alto saxophonist, I think I like sharing the stage with a trumpet/fluegelhorn player even more than with a tenor sax player. The variety in sound and approach is greater, and even visually the contrast is striking and, to me, more interesting. Of course, there are some challenges. At least I find there to be. The main one is to play with that other horn person without overplaying. Often enough, I’ll just bow out, and I noticed that Dan did the same last night. Actually, I find that approach enjoyable. It’s nice to just put down one’s horn and enjoy what the other guy is doing. We usually learn more by listening than by talking, and that maxim can certainly be applied to jazz, provided the person we’re listening to has something to say. Dan does, and it was really nice to hear him last night and get a chance to make a little music with him.

Dan, if you happen to read this, you’re great! Thanks for the melodies. I look forward to next time.

A Fun Jazz Night at Noto’s

It has been a long time since I went to a lounge where a group of topnotch musicians was playing and sat in with them on my sax. Tonight I took the plunge and headed over to Noto’s in Cascade, where keyboardist Bob VanStee, vocalist Kathy Lamar, and drummer Bobby Thompson were performing. I’m glad I went! I had an absolute blast.

I’ve known Bobby for a couple years now and enjoy him both as a player and as a person. I’m just getting to know Bob VanStee, but I’ve known OF him since my college days, when he was well-known about town prior to his taking a 15-year hiatus from music from which he has only recently reemerged. As for Kathy, I’d heard her name but never met her until this evening. Holy cow! What a fantastic vocalist and charismatic entertainer! I love playing side man to a good vocalist, and Kathy is an absolute joy to play alongside of.

It really did me good to jump in with this trio and provide some horn work. While I brought my fake books, I wound up not having any use for them. Vocalists frequently sing tunes in keys different from the standard instrumental keys–a good reason for jazz musicians to become as fluent as possible in all twelve tone centers. I like that kind of challenge; it forces me out of my comfort zone. For instance, I’ve woodshedded “How High the Moon” in its contrafact incarnation, “Ornithology,” to the point where I can pretty well shred it in its normal key, concert G. I’ve also been working on it in concert A and F#, and bit in C. But playing it in Eb tonight took me places I wasn’t used to! Sure, Eb puts me in the nice, easy alto sax key of C, but the tune quickly modulates from C to Bb, then down another whole step to Ab. Navigating the key of Ab makes life nothing if not interesting.

Aebersold CDs and Band-in-a-Box are great assets for getting one’s chops together. But the real joy is in playing live with real-life musicians in a spontaneous framework. That’s the essence of jazz–musicians listening and responding to each other in a way that brings coherence and beauty to collective improvisation. It was wonderful to spend some time this evening with three superb talents who know what that’s about.