Üt Haus jazz band plays Bear’s Place

Tucked away in the back of Bear’s Place, old friends, family, and some fresh faces gathered to see the Üt Haus jazz band perform their 18th anniversary show for the Jazz Fables concert series Thursday evening. \nThe three core members of the band, French hornist and vocalist Jerry Morris, bassist Steve Johnson and trumpet player David Miller, have known each other since junior high. Miller is also the director of the Jazz Fables concert series and addressed the crowd before each tune. He explained details about each song, such as who composed the piece and what that piece means to the band. \nThe first set Üt Haus played established that the group knew how to make even the most standard of jazz standards special and different. The band loves to tack on strange, unexpected endings onto their songs, and the players enjoy bantering back and forth while performing.\nJohnson sat behind the horn players and kept the whole band playing his bass at the same tempo, as well as providing the chord changes, as the band has no pianist. Morris’ french horn provided a unique timbre to the jazz standards Üt Haus played.\nOne standard, “Star Eyes” by Billy Eckstine, showcased drummer Kevin Newcomb continually switching rhythmic style during solos, from swing time on the ride cymbal to a latin beat on the toms. “Cottage for Sale,” featuring Morris on vocals, was one of the more unusual performances of the evening, Johnson said. The song used uncommon dissonant harmonies and Morris’ vocals added a somber tone.\n“That was my favorite tune,” Johnson said.\nWaiting on all of the customers was Lindsay Pipher, a waitress at Bear’s Place who enjoys the jazz performances each week, especially over the popular karaoke nights.\nThe Jazz Fables concert series will continue throughout the summer every Thursday in the back room of Bear’s Place. This Thursday’s show will feature the jazz quintet Wide Open performing acoustic modern-jazz originals.