Jazz Band and Flock of Flutes in Concert on May 31

“I didn’t start playing music until I was in my mid-20s,” recalls Jeff Paull, who plays saxophone in Civic Arts’ Jazz Band. “Everyone was playing guitar at the time, so I looked at piano but decided I should have started a lot younger to get really proficient so I tried trumpet. I had always liked Lee Loughnane, the trumpet player with the band Chicago. Well, that experiment failed miserably.” According to Jeff, his playing annoyed his neighbors to the point that they threw things at adjoining walls and once even turned off his electricity. “I guess the trumpet wasn’t a good instrument to learn in a condo with thin walls,” he laughs. Once he switched to the saxophone, the complaints stopped.

Jeff has been playing sax for almost 30 years now and is one of the original members of the Civic Arts Jazz Band. “I’ve seen lots of great musicians come through the band in the 12-13 years I’ve been with it. In fact, my oldest son Justin played for years with the Jazz Band, and my 17-year-old son Joshua still plays with the group,” says the proud dad. Jeff says that over the years, other band members have also had their sons or daughters in the band as well. “It’s really very special that Walnut Creek offers this type of program where families can play together. I’ve really enjoyed playing with my own kids and the other teens we have from Las Lomas High School. It keeps you young to have these younger players around and they get exposed to older, more experienced players.”

Also keeping the Jazz Band on its toes is bandleader Max Pricco, who along with Jeff has introduced new, more contemporary charts. “We have a book of charts that we use for most of our concerts with maybe a few new ones thrown in, but it’s really exciting to have a bunch of new ones to play for the first time. Keeps it fun for everyone,” says Jeff.

The general public can get in on the fun at the Jazz Band’s next concert scheduled for May 31 at 7:30 pm in the Shadelands Auditorium. Tickets are $10. The concert will be half Jazz Band and half Flock of Flutes. “I’m really excited about this really nice solo I have in Quincy Jones ‘Quintessence.’ There’s nothing like playing a beautiful ballad with a great band backing you up,” says Jeff. The Jazz band will also be playing Miles Davis’ “All Blues,” Thad Jones’ “Groove Merchant,” Duke Ellington’s “In a Mellow Tone,” and Louis Prima’s “Sing, Sing, Sing” to name a few. Flock of Flutes, under Monica Williams’ direction, will perform “Pictures at an Exhibition” by Mussorgsky, “Zefiro Delicato” by Gary Schocker, “Flute Garden” by Ricky Lombardo, and “Uncharted Paths” by Deborah Anderson.

For more information on the May 31 concert, visit www.arts-ed.org or call 925-943-5846.