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.