Jazz piano guru Stu MacAskie got into jazz in seventh grade after watching a PBS special on Duke Ellington, Ella Fitzgerald and Count Basie.ˇ "Then Dave Brubeck performed 'Take Five,' and I thought it was the coolest thing I'd ever heard in my life," MacAskie said.
The Jazz Infidels got their name after a month of debate. "It was something we could all semi-agree on," saxophone player Sam Isabel said. "'Infidel' has a connotation that you don't follow the norm. Plus, we wanted to indicate that we are a jazz band." The band also includes Der Baron on drums, Vince Spiak on stand-up bass, Boleszek Osinski on trumpet, and Shawn Umsteau or Paul Mallory on piano.
At one time, the Felonious Groove Foundation had nine members. "We would go to a show, and it'd look like a clown posse getting out of the car," guitarist Cali Soberanes said. "The van door would open up, and it'd be a nonstop line of musicians getting out.
Long Gone Trio doesn't need drums to get people on the dance floor. "A lot of people are weirded out when they see we don't have a drummer," said Pat Bova, singer and guitarist for the local rockabilly band. "And then they come see us play and say, 'You don't need a drummer.
Solutions by The State News
