Of course it figures that it would do it on a weekend, when my poor sunburned students in marching band wouldn't be able to benefit from it (they were all hating it when the mercury in Dallas hit 109 on Wednesday...ugh), and on a day when one of my schools had an all-day, two-location car wash scheduled. Oh well. At least I won't have to dodge a sprinkler in the front yard again for a few days...
So the gig with 15th Street Jazz went really well last night. They did the first two sets by themselves, and then Collin (up-and-coming saxist I mentioned last week) and I joined them for the last set. It's almost a shame that they're scattering to four different places for college, because they've gotten really tight recently. But the CD they just recorded, which is likely to find a place on the Internet somewhere, will be not only a lasting memento but also a way to keep their music out there while they're away, as well as an easy avenue for securing gigs when they're back in town. It'll be cool to see what kind of new stuff they pick up at their respective schools.
And as I said before, they've opened the door for more of this stuff to happen. There may not be too many places that are paying enough to keep professional groups out there, but the young jazzers have found a fertile market in the exploding coffeehouse phenomenon, especially the independent ones. I mean, I love my Starbucks, but I also want to have an alternative from time to time, and I'm definitely interested in keeping the little guy in business if they're providing an outlet for live music, especially live jazz. I'll be trying to hook up groups from the college and other collections of Renegades during the next semester.
I'm supposed to get an advance copy of the CD from the guys, and when I do, I'll post comments and links for when the music goes online. In the meantime, guys, again, I salute you for doing what so many young musicians only dream of doing before they graduate. In this case, it's worked out great.
