Jennifer Wharton’s trombone-led band, Bonegasm, might have to settle for second place in the clever-jazz-band-name world. Santa Cruz’s jazz quartet, Death and Saxes, is proof of the inevitability of increasingly talented, and clever, jazz bands. Their sonic straight-ahead vibe will be onstage at the Crepe Place Friday.
“My wife made a cool, (heavy) metal type of logo,” says Santa Cruz band founder, and tenor saxophonist, John Bouwsma.
For many music lovers, jazz falls between the cracks. It is certainly not as accessible as rock, rap or country anthems. Yet, jazz is the story of America. Brilliant recordings of the melting pot’s ineffable crescendos that have risen and fallen throughout the decades. It’s not for everyone, but what is?
Bouwsma has two decades of playing under his belt, and is currently part-timing his musical career after taking a few years off to raise his family and deal with life under (and beyond) COVID. Like so many young jazz lovers in our region, Bouwsma was indoctrinated into the apprenticeship of jazz through the Kuumbwa Jazz Center’s classes and sponsorships.
“I grew up playing in their education programs when I was in high school. That was super awesome because it gave me an ensemble to play in and teachers. It also gave me access to the Kuumbwa. They got us into the club for free. During high school, I was there a few times a month. Basically, all the time,” Bouwsma laughs.
One can downplay Kuumbwa’s impact on new generations of jazz fiends, but giving the youth opportunities to be amongst, and witness the best players in the field, is the gift of a master’s class education.
Bouwsma spent his 20’s living in the birthplace of jazz, New Orleans. The young saxophonist began soaking up the culture and music of the Big Easy and dreamt of his own ensemble.
Bouwsma returned to Santa Cruz and put together a band. “Ben (Sibley) and Jamie (Brudnick), the drums and bassists. They’ve both been playing in Santa Cruz forever. I probably met them when I was in high school or college”, says Bouwsma.
“And Harrison (Brand) is the guitarist whom I met through Cabrillo. He’s 24 and just graduated from UCSC. He’s an awesome guitarist (from Alameda).”
Death and Saxes, like many young jazz ensembles, plays a hefty serving of the standards at local venues. Bouwsma’s focus on the jazz music of the late 1950’s and early 1960’s makes the band stand out. “We’re trying to do monthly shows at The Crepe Place. And at Lupulo’s downtown, on the third Thursday of every month. Discretion Brewing was one of our first gigs and we’ve played there 30 times already.”
Bouwsma credits people like Adam Bergeron of the Crepe Place for having a good eye for talent and giving musicians opportunities.
“Adam pays us what he can and he has so many shows—sometimes like 2 gigs a day,” says Bouwsma.
Bouwsma wants to share his personal passion in his band by playing covers of sometimes overlooked and under-represented musicians. “I’ve been doing a really deep dive into George Coleman. He was in Miles’ band for about a year until he was replaced by Wayne Shorter. He’s been on the fringes of jazz, but he’s a legend. He’s 90 years old and he’s still playing in the small clubs of New York City”
To the outside ear, jazz can sound cacophonous, with unending solos and invisible melodies. Inside Bouwsma’s mind, he is constantly working out original tunes that he then brings to the band.
“Sometimes I’ll have some chords that I’ll play on the piano. And then I’ll build a melody from there. Or sometimes I take the melody that I hear and sing in my head. And then I figure out what the chords are. I want a melody, but it also has to be a vehicle that the whole band can play on,” says Bouwsma.
Exploratory jazz can go so far that even the idea of a melody is ludicrous, but that new space is where the gems are, but maybe not over crab salad. “Especially for restaurant-type gigs, we try to keep it together. But, the more we can stretch out, the better. It’s always important to me to play the song. It’s got to come back to where we started. Otherwise, you’re not playing the song anymore. It should relate to the melody,” Bouwsma adds.
Death and Saxes will be doing their first recording on August 14 at the Kuumbwa. “That’ll be produced by Kuumbwa. Having basically grown up there, I think it will be really good for everybody.
”Death and Saxes will be performing on June 26, from 5:30 – 7:30pm, outdoors at The Crepe Place, 1134 Soquel Avenue Santa Cruz. Admission is free.
