So I don’t do this very often for a variety of reasons — mostly because it’s usually just not as fun — but last night a smaller version of our band played a very special Yelp! event.
Steve and Joe smokin’ on Sonny Rollins’ “St. Thomas.”
And man was it fun.
We were called on for an instrumental trio for 2-1/2 hours for their “Yelper” party — the biggest Yelp St. Louis event of the year. The theme was “old Hollywood ball” so we were a good choice for it with our mix of jazz and standards. The setting, the Union Station Ballroom, was stunning. The food vendors were outrageously delicious and a special Kevin Mitchell 4 hat’s off to the gent pouring one of the best local beers all night long.
Now normally for a jazz trio set up, we bring a smaller version of our P.A., but we knew to bring out everything we had as we’d need it to fill this beautiful 1891 ballroom. We were a bit concerned about our volume and our mix, but the nice fella named Aaron who hired us said we were perfect from the first note. Whew.
(Note: this trio was made up of me, sax ace Steve Kauffmann, and a new guy … Once in a while one of our main players can’t make it and we need a sub. Last night we had a new one on the trap set, Joe Burress, who is teaching my 8-year-old drums. Joe recently moved to the area from Memphis and he did a fantastic job. Memphis’ loss is St. Louis’ gain that’s for sure.)
Playing our kind of music in a place like this is a great experience. What made it better was the people Yelp! brought out: It was a big, festive crowd, and many dressed in old Hollywood style (1920s-1930s). We even had quit a few of these merrymakers dancing!
What really made us feel good is that a couple of folks who had heard us at other gigs came. One gal said, “I was on the fence about coming but then I saw you guys were playing.” That made us feel good.
Hat’s off to the good people of Yelp! St. Louis. And if you ever get an invite to one of their events, don’t be on the fence — just go.
