Jazz Fables celebrates 25th year

Every Thursday since 1989, Bloomington residents and IU students have been able to hear original jazz and favorite standards from Bear's Place house band, Jazz Fables. Tonight the group will be celebrating its 25th anniversary (13th at Bear's) of playing together and presenting jazz to the community during a no-smoking concert. \nThe group consists of founder David Miller (trumpet), Tom Walsh (tenor saxophone), Luke Gillespie (piano), Steve Houghton (drums), Bruce Bransby (double bass), Lida Baker (flute) and special guest David Baker (cello), an IU School of Music professor. \n"David Miller's Jazz Fables has meant a great deal to the jazz scene in Bloomington," pianist Luke Gillespie said. "Miller has been a constant supporter and promoter of jazz music over the years, and his Jazz Fables performances with many visiting jazz artists, especially at Bear's Place, have helped to expose jazz to a wider audience, including students, faculty and the extended Bloomington community."\nJazz Fables has come a long way since its beginning in 1977 to become Bloomington's largest outlet for local and national jazz. The band originally consisted of David Miller, Jerry Weldin and Michael Weiss. \n"The name came from a combination of jazz group, Jazz Messengers and a composition by Charles Mingus, 'Fables of Faubus'," Miller said.\nAt first it was just a group of IU music students wanting a venue for acoustic modern jazz. The goal was to have a continuing gig for performing quintet repertoire consisting of music from Charles Mingus, Thelonious Monk and Duke Ellington. \nIn the fall of 1977, Jazz Fables found a home as the house band at Rapp's Pizza. It was in this pizza parlor where the repertoire extended and guest performers made their first appearances. The group was continually changing because students were always graduating and had to be replaced. Fables always tried to keep the core of the group in the University and to offer students an opportunity for playing outside of the music school.\nThe largest change for Jazz Fables occurred in September 1989 when the group became the house band for Bear's Place. Bear's was where David Baker, mentor to Miller, made his first guest appearance. Since then he has been the guest to open up each of the fall, winter and summer seasons. \nWith the ever evolving group of musicians, it was hard to keep the original concept of the group. "Ultimately a working group could not stay together, in the early to mid-1990s the concept changed from a working unit with occasional guests to a concert series," Miller said. \nThe types of jazz being played began to change as well. The group began by playing the compositions of three men. The band now plays everything from Latin, Brazilian and avant-garde jazz to electric jazz, café and fusion, while still using some standards. They usually use their Thursday performances to pay homage to either their guest performers or another composer. \nRegardless of the changes that have occurred, Jazz Fables has always been an important part of the music life in Bloomington. David Miller has brought in and sent out some of the nations most noted jazz musicians. Guests have come from afar to perform on the stage at Bear's. \nIU students and staff who have played with the group have gone on to become established recording artists. It has given not only jazz students at IU an opportunity to expand their skills, but it's an opportunity for all students to become acquainted with jazz music.\n"What I think is the most important thing about Jazz Fables is that David Miller has been able to create this for twenty-five years and single handedly he has kept it going," flute player Lida Baker said. "We have been able to send off so many students from Jazz Fables. Also, every week there is a wonderful jazz concert to which we performers and the audience alike have all been beneficiaries." \nThe group hopes to continue on as it has in recent years. This means having an opportunity to play regularly in a format that showcases not only the players of the band but also attracts new student talent from the School of Music. \n"I am very optimistic for the future of Jazz Fables, because not only do they offer a cannon of jazz music, but more importantly they provide a wonderful outlet for all of our students to play and hear this great jazz," Lida Baker said. \nThe main components of the group have always been undergraduate and graduate students from the jazz studies department. This has been important Miller said, "to get from them their youthful fire and creativity."\nAs it has been doing for twenty-five years, Jazz Fables will once again bring amazing jazz to Bloomington this week. This Thursday, they will have their 25th anniversary gig at Bear's Place with a $7 cover charge.\nFeatured will be some of Baker's original compositions such as "Tippin" and "Stepping Out" and also his arrangements of acoustic modern jazz standards from composers such as Cole Porter and Hoagy Carmichael. \n"We tried to put together something memorable for Thursday," Baker said. "We hope that it will be a wonderful blend of the two styles"