Jazzin’ with the JamDawgs
March 23, 2009
By Jeff Richards
Scotty Harris (left) plays the saxophone with Chris Leighton on drums March 19 at Vino Bella’s JamDawgs session, where anyone can join them onstage to ‘jam’ on any jazz standard. By Jeff Richards
“You mean that sound that sounds like the cutting edge of life? That sounds like polar bears crossing arctic ice pans? That sounds like a herd of musk ox in full flight”
This is how Donald Barthelme describes an electrifying trombone jazz in his short story, “The King of Jazz.” It serves as all the more reason why you can’t describe jazz; you have to hear it.Since January, Issaquah residents have had the opportunity to do just that at Vino Bella Wine and Espresso Bar.
From 7:30-10:30 p.m. Thursdays, the JamDawgs host a jam of jazz musicians, who come together, often for the first time, to cruise through just about any song they choose.
“We’ll say, ‘Do you know this tune? Do you know that tune? Alright, let’s do it.’ It happens that fast,” said Issaquah resident Bruce Koenigsberg, president and co-founder of the JamDawgs. “It’s really magic. People come up to us all the time and say, ‘I can’t believe these people have never played together before.’”
Thus far, the jam sessions have brought together not only musicians of relative obscurity but some recognizable names as well, including Lee Oskar, a founding member of War, and Alan White, the drummer for Yes.
The one constant every week during the jam session is Seattle group Bassic Saxx, which consists of husband-and-wife duo Scotty Harris, on saxophone, and Lissa Ramaglia, on electric upright bass.
The two have hosted jams for the past 12 years and met Koenigsberg in Seattle about 10 years ago. From then, the three worked off and on together before Koenigsberg brought them in to host the JamDawgs at Vino Bella.
“He called us up and said, ‘Do you want a gig on Thursday?’ and we said, ‘Absolutely,’” Harris said. “Then, he slowly turned us on to the JamDawgs concept.”
Harris said he and Ramaglia have been working with Vino Bella owner Claude Blumenzweig to create a sense of family at the bar for the musicians and audience. In that sense, Ramaglia said they’ve been encouraged so far by the progress.
“Every week, we’ve been seeing new faces, new local faces,” she said. “The JamDawgs and us want to bring that sense of community where people feel comfortable to just swing by to play and to listen.”
JamDawgs is a nonprofit organization that formed in 2004. Koenigsberg had been jamming with blues bands in Seattle’s Pioneer Square, when he met future co-founder Joe Lane.
After discovering the two were near neighbors in Mirrormont, they formed a band along with the third co-founder of the JamDawgs, Carl Bradley.
The organization was formed to act as a way of bringing experienced musicians together and finding gigs for them by networking with musicians and club owners.
It currently hosts two jams in the Seattle area, a blues jam at Kirkland’s Wilde Rover Irish Pub and Restaurant and the jazz jam at Vino Bella.
For the Vino Bella jam, musicians sign up and Harris chooses who will play for the given week. While he works to keep a high-quality level of music, he said he tries not to be overly critical of the musicians.
“Man, guys gave me a break when I was a kid, and I try to pass that on,” he said. “We just want to play at a level that’s not painful for us and the audience.”
Still, Koenigsberg said they stress that musicians be of intermediate to advanced skill level and have experience performing live.
“Most of these jams just let anybody up there and play,” he said. “We want it so that everyone has a positive experience, the band members and the audience.”
In the future, Koenigsberg said they would like to expand to other cities, such as Vancouver, B.C., and Seattle, and to begin organizing concerts for benefits.
In the meantime, Harris said they’re just hoping to make jazz and its musicians a part of the Issaquah community, bringing back the interpersonal communication between musicians and the audience that was once a part of the Seattle jazz scene.
“It works if you’re consistent,” he said. “If the music is good every time, the experience is good every time, Claude is friendly every time, people will come back.”
If you go
JamDawgs
7:30-10:30 p.m. Thursdays
Vino Bella
99 Front St. N.
On the Web
Register as a musician with JamDawgs or learn more at www.jamdawgs.com. Learn more about Harris and Ramaglia at www.bassicsaxx.com.
Reach intern Jeff Richards at 392-6434, ext. 236, or isspress@isspress.com. Comment on this story at www.issaquahpress.com.
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Thanks Jeff- from the JamDawgs, great article.
bruce