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The UMD Vocal Jazz group at Duluth Cider. Photos by Jill Fisher.

In the run-up to this year’s Homegrown Music Festival, which begins this Sunday, Jazz Appreciation Month (JAM) has prepped us for probably more music than we can actually handle.

On Monday, April 13, the Owl’s Club Big Band lit up the Cosmic Lounge stage at Bent Paddle Brewing Co. with lots of great jazz dating back more than 100 years!

OCBB is just that: 18 members with plenty of horns. To be specific, they include four trumpets, five trombones and five saxophones plus keys, standup bass and drums rounding out the group.

I recognized that players from other bands such as Big Wave Dave and the Ripples were in the mix. They included Big Wave Dave himself (Dave Adams) playing trumpet, Matt Wasmund on baritone sax and Alex Nordehn on trombone. Then there was Darin Bergsven (guitar) who also plays with Hot Club of Duluth and Ian Hopp (drums) who plays with Jumpsuit.

OCBB was really geared up. By the time I arrived, just 10 minutes after the advertised start time of 6 pm, the band was already into the fifth song on its playlist, the “King Porter Stomp.” This tune was written by Jelly Roll Morton for the piano in 1906 and first recorded in 1923. After Benny Goodman recorded it in 1935 it became a big band standard.

A couple songs later, “Moanin’” by Charles Mingus (not to be confused with the Bobby Timmons tune of the same name) featured Wasmund on his bari sax. What a fabulous rendition. Wow, what a way to wrap up the first set and entice folks to hang around for more.

Owls Club Big Band

The second set of the evening showcased what the OCBB could do with other great jazz standards.
A funky one was “Blue Pepper (Far East of the Blues)” by Duke Ellington, recorded in 1966 and another by him, “Rockin’ in Rhythm,” first recorded in 1931, did just that. The performance of these pieces demonstrated how tight this band is. Not only tight, but versatile too.

“Love For Sale” was composed in 1930 by Cole Porter for the Broadway musical The New Yorkers, in which it was sung by the prostitute character. According to Wikipedia a newspaper review labeled it as “in bad taste,” causing radio stations to ban it from broadcasting, at least initially.

In this playing, “Love For Sale” got a bebop treatment.

The evening was brought to a close with a second Mingus tune from 1962, “Ecclusiastics.” Based on the reception by the audience, it was clear all wanted to hear more. I guess we’ll have to join the Owl’s Club to do that!

The next JAM session was on Thursday, April 16, at Duluth Cider. Three groups were on the bill this evening.

First up was Esko Jazz Band under the direction of Rich Mowers who has been the band director for Esko High School for 30 years. (That’s not counting the previous 7 years of band directing elsewhere.) This is only one of the two jazz bands Mowers directs there. He must be doing something right, cause these youngsters were swinging like the pros.

Esko Jazz Band

The Esko Jazz Band was made up of 15 members on this occasion, with four each on saxophones, trombones and trumpets. It also included keys, guitar and drums. It was somewhat surprising to hear Paul McCartney’s tune “Blackbird” (credited to Lennon-McCartney) get the jazz treatment, but it worked. It was one of several contemporary or “oldies” tunes that were jazzed up. Herb Alpert’s “Tijuana Taxi” was a fun tune, as was “Wise Up” by Gordon Goodwin.

Esko Jazz Band trombonist Joe Jukich

As usual when it comes to jazz there were several solos by various students. Joe Jukich played a particularly nice sax solo. These kids may not have hit every note perfectly, but they had the jazz juice to make for a most enjoyable set.

The second group on this Thursday evening was the UMD Vocal Jazz group. Now, here was something different.

Though vocals are certainly an aspect of jazz, I can’t recall hearing a chorus undertake this genre. The sound they produced was something like the singing group Manhattan Transfer. Also several of the members gave us some great scat. At one point I thought it was almost a cross between old world choral music and jazz. I wondered, is this “New Age Jazz?”

For several numbers the group split in two with the seven women vocalists commanding the stage. Then it was the eight men vocalists’ turn to take over. A quintet comprised of saxophone, guitar, keys, standup bass and drums accompanied the singers.

UMD Vocal Jazz

The group sang the 1945 “Give Me the Simple Life” (music by Rube Bloom, lyrics by Harry Ruby) that was used in the 1946 movie Wake Up and Dream.

Another fine piece was “Feeling Good,” a tune that  is closely associated with Nina Simone and which included solos by both male and female vocalists.

Unfortunately I was unable to stay to hear what the third group was like — the Lakeside Big Band. I trust the audience on hand enjoyed their performance.

On Friday, April 17, I got over to the West Theatre for a concert by Trace Bundy. This solo performer has been called an “Acoustic Ninja.” The concert was billed as something that must be seen, not just heard, which intrigued me since live music is what I’m all about.

Bundy is a native of Austin, Minnesota, but his family moved to Buena Vista, Colorado, when he was quite young. He and his brother shared a guitar, initially learning to play from guitar magazines.
In high school he met and studied under the acclaimed acoustic folk songwriter Jonah Werner.

What is perhaps an interesting aspect of his life is that he earned undergraduate and master’s degrees in civil engineering at the University of Colorado in Boulder and taught engineering there as well.
After all, most musicians support themselves with day jobs!

A slight fella, Bundy was dressed in black kinda like a ninja, but with the addition of a Jack White-style fedora.

Trace Bundy

In taking the stage he declared it was his plan to have a good time on this evening. He started the show with a  demonstration of the various sounds possible from an acoustic guitar and explained his simultaneous use of multiple capos. This, he said, allowed him to finger pick with his left hand while strumming, thumping and slapping the body of the instrument with his right for different percussive effects.

Included in his remarks was a compliment about the West’s acoustics, saying he actually didn’t need any amplification.

His first number was the title track from his 2012 album Elephant King, which he called a celebration song. It included much percussion in its playing.

Before moving on to the next piece, Bundy explained the look and sound of the McPherson guitar he uses. With most acoustic guitars, the soundhole is in the middle of the body. But with a fine piece of wood that is used for the guitar front, not having a soundhole smack dab in the middle allows more of the wood to be preserved and appreciated.

In addition the off-set soundhole in the upper portion of the body (as it is held horizontally) provides for greater volume, clarity and an enhanced sonic experience.

He thought it a nice coincidence that Matt McPherson, who constructs these guitars in Sparta, Wis., was also born in Austin.

Bundy’s second number was his arrangement of his mom’s favorite song: “Can’t Take My Eyes Off of You,” recorded by Frankie Valli in 1967. He followed that with his composition “Dueling Ninjas” from his 2004 album Adapt. The title of that song, as well as his Honest Ninja Music record label suggests that he has gladly accepted the moniker bestowed on him by a music reporter.

His fourth instrumental was a medley of three songs: “Hello,” “Killing Me Softly” and “I Will Survive” (the band Cake’s version). “Brisselcone” from Adapt followed, for which he used electronic looping.
Near the end of his first set was a cover of U2’s “Where the Streets Have No Name” from its 1987 album The Joshua Tree. This number split two different electronic rhythms between speakers on the left and right side of the stage, making for what Bundy called “a math equation in sound.”

And it was fascinating how the two separate beats merged.

Before each of the songs “Professor Bundy” (which he called himself) provided background on exactly how and what sounds were being produced. Perhaps it was his background as an instructor that compelled him to explain each technique and how he used it in the performance.

All in all, it was quite the display of masterful techniques that Bundy used to coax a wide range of sounds from his acoustic guitar. His show up until intermission was comprised solely of instrumentals.

As good as this concert was, and I cannot for the life of me cite any deficits, it left me cold. Thus I took off at the break in search of more compelling music on this late Friday evening. And guess what — I found it at Sir Ben’s with the unique and exciting Brothers Burn Mountain.

Brothers Burn Mountain

UPCOMING: Besides the eight days of Homegrown starting on Sunday, April 26, which is enough music on offer to keep anyone dizzy with decisions, there’s the JAM Jazz Crawl through Lincoln Park on Saturday, April 25. Again, decisions, decisions!

I probably shouldn’t even mention Jorma Kaukonen’s Farewell Tour concert at the West on Thursday, April 23, since I believe it’s sold out at this point. But you’d better believe I will be there!