Spring Break
Jazz night heats up in downtown San Jose
Vaishali Kirpekar
Daily Staff Writer
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The crowd not only stayed throughout the performance but also made its presence felt with screams for encores, after the performance ended. It had the trappings of a performance that could have lasted the entire night, which left some audience members wanting more music. Some were teenagers, some had white hair and some were bald, but music tingled their ears - they were in no hurry to hit the sack.
The soft lighting and chic interiors in the Hedley Club hall added to the ambiance created by live jazz, beer and salted nuts. The house band started playing at 9 p.m. to make a relaxing evening in the unassuming hotel on West Santa Clara Street.
Saxophonist Scott Barnhill, guitarist Tim Volpicella, bassist Gus Kambietz and drummer Buddy Barnhill performed "Stella By Starlight," "Stolen Moments," "Satin Doll," "Invitation," and "What is This Thing Called Love?" During the performance, which is held every Wednesday, audience members are welcome to bring instruments to the jam session and perform with the band on stage.
The Hedley Club has a grand and imposing appearance. Wall-sized paintings depicting princes and royal courts enclose the hall space. Heavy curtains cover the fountains outside, and statues of black bison stand near the door, while a crocodile carved in black lazes on the ledge, placed in the center, as if basking in the tropical sun.
In the interested audience, people of different ages and backgrounds clumped together to lounge on the comfortable seats. Older people in the audience relaxed and chatted with their friends in the hall, while those who wanted to participate in jam sessions or sing, sat upright, waiting for the saxophonist Barnhill to call them.
Barnhill is a tubby man, who played saxophone with the same authority that he exuded over his group and his listeners. The neck of the saxophone curved in his pudgy hands, as the polished brass gleamed in the dark to make music that lulled the senses.
Although his music boomed on top of the others, Barnhill did not have the air of a territorial saxophonist. Dressed in black, he encouraged young musicians to come out of their shells, such as the shy and muscular 16-year-old Michael Evans.
The San Jose Jazz Society conducts summer programs to train young jazz lovers and musicians.
Evans, dressed in denim and a red T-shirt that had a grinning Garfield on it, is a freshman majoring in sound engineering at West Valley College. He sat, resting an impatient hand on the lid of his saxophone box, waiting to flip it open and perform "Stolen Moments" in the jam session with Barnhill.
Evans' voice was hoarse and cracked, but his saxophone music was a melody that drew encores. He has been learning the saxophone for six years, he said.
Michael Davis, another teenager and a drummer, sat guarding the entrance door, collecting a voluntary donation fee of $5 for the group.
The performance was also entertaining because of the interaction of the young music learners with the experts.
Barnhill, a divorcee in his mid-forties and a father of two children, said he picked up music from his father who is the drummer of the San Jose Jazz Society. They have been performing together for several years.
The rhythmic pulses of bass and drums reflected tremendous skills. The robust-built bassist towered over the stout drummer and together. They lent the music a refreshing liveliness and vigor. The guitarist always had a smile to thank or greet the audience and the younger musicians.
After the performance ended and the band packed up, some people lingered around the musicians to chat with them and ask questions about the instruments and music charts.
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