Trumpeter Jeff Conrad’s IndyDixie Jazz Band will perform in Columbus at Jazz at Helen’s March 15.
Founder and producer Warren Ward has tried a number of ways to emphasize the first-class, national polish of acts playing the Columbus Indiana Philharmonic’s relatively new Jazz at Helen’s series.
Here’s one straightforward way to spotlight the giftedness of the six-piece ensemble coming March 15 to Helen Haddad Hall downtown. Band leader Jeff Conrad began playing trumpet at age 15 in Latin clubs in California. Four years later, he was touring with Ray Charles. And then Harry James and Maynard Ferguson after that.
Any questions?
Yet Conrad, now 68, prefers to boast of the local orchestra’s vision for such a concert collection with artists who have played nationally or globally, from pianist Steve Allee to violinist Cathy Morris.
“All the musicians really appreciate what the Philharmonic is doing there,” said Conrad, speaking by phone from his home in Carmel.
Conrad brings his IndyDixie Jazz Band to Columbus for a spirited, two-hour show for a mix of covers such as as “Basin Street Blues,” “What a Wonderful World,” “I Found a New Baby” and others. But he expects his audience to come as prepared as his band — prepared to get into the groove.
“We would all have great fun there if we played and even nobody showed up, because we’re all good friends and love performing together,” Conrad said. “But it’s 100 times better when there’s a lot of people there tapping their toes and really enjoying it.
“That’s something that doesn’t get recognized very often — that the audience absolutely becomes a part of the performance. Their interaction actually makes the performance better.”
Several previous artists who have played the 90-seat local venue have commented on the strength of the setting’s intimacy, with the front row nearly close enough for listeners to touch the performers. Conrad’s band will consist of Randy Salman on clarinet and saxophone; Dan Hughey on trombone and vocals; Ken Fary on piano; Jon Block on bass; and Larry Sauer on drums and washboard.
The six generally begin a song with general structure and knowledge of where they want to take it. But the journey itself becomes different every performance of a particular tune, given the ever-shifting muse of jazz.
Conrad a California native, said the group came together by accident nearly two years ago when someone phoned him asking for a professional Dixieland ensemble. But one of the area’s Dixieland leaders had died and there no other such ready-made groups. The musician has discovered that the music fits into some slightly unlikely places.
For instance, at the request of a family of a deceased loved one recently, the band played the funeral with the upbeat Dixieland fervor of any concert. A mourner approached Conrad afterward.
“It’s pretty hard to be sad today,” he told the band leader.
Likewise, Conrad finds an equal measure of joy as a professional fly fisherman guide and instructor, where he casts his creativity in a slightly different direction. One of his favorite outlets with the sport has been working since 2004 with Casting For Recovery, with retreats involving taking breast cancer patients out on the water to forget their troubles. He feels fortunate to be an agent of healing with either a trumpet or a reel in his hands.
“Both of those things,” he said, “have exactly the same effect. Most of these ladies whom we take out fishing later say, ‘You know, for those three hours, I completely forgot that I had breast cancer.”
Come March 15, he figures that area music lovers can forget a few struggles as well.
About the show
Who: IndyDixie Jazz Band playing for about two hours with a 15-minute intermission.
When: 7:30 p.m. March 15.
Where: Helen Haddad Hall, 315 Franklin St. in downtown Columbus. Cash bar offers beer, wine, and spirits for the 21+ crowd.
Tickets: thecip.org.
