Big Bands
Jazz has been a longtime passion of mine. Outside of design, I think playing jazz is one of the most satisfying things I do. I’ve played in a variety of jazz groups, but I’ve always really loved playing in big bands. When I was in college, I played in the KU Jazz Ensemble every semester I was there and some of my best musical moments were in that band. We played a lot of different modern jazz music composed by the likes of Maria Schneider, Vince Mendoza, Jim McNeely, Bob Brookmeyer, the director Dan Gailey and many others. This music has become some of my favorite of all time and I love any chance I get to perform it.
(That’s me in college.)
Skip to post-graduation . . . as you might imagine, there isn’t a ton of opportunities to play in big bands outside of school. There are some good ones in the area, but it’s just not quite the same and they’re hard to get into. This weekend, I was able to sub on lead alto with the Jazzhaus Big Band at the American Legion here in Lawrence. This is a band that gets together twice a month and just reads tunes that they’ve compiled over the last 20-30 years and . . . it’s old school. That certainly doesn’t mean that it’s bad at all, but it’s definitely a different style of big band playing that I am used to. So, it’s a lot of fun to sit in with these guys, hear their stories, get to practice my sight reading and lead a sax section again.
There were a handful of people there to listen and dance, since it’s mostly dance music. Seeing people moving around and having fun to the music you’re playing is pretty cool!
The band is basically run by this man, Clyde Bysom. Clyde is a Lawrence musician who has been playing music almost his entire life. This is particularly impressive since he just celebrated his 90th birthday this year! He told me today that he’s still playing in two big bands, and clarinet quartet and a saxophone quartet. If I even get close to Clyde’s age and am still able to play music, I’ll consider myself extremely lucky!
As a side note, if you EVER have a chance to hear the Maria Schneider Orchestra, DO IT! Don’t ask questions . . . just buy tickets and enjoy. She’s amazing!