Jazz at Banter – February 4

February 4, 2012 By stevehorn

Left to Right: Nolan Byrd, Alexander Hahn, Jake Greenburg, Ronan Delisle

UNT’s Jazz program offers a mother lode of talent from the young at heart, energetic musicians excited to play and Banter offers a stage for them to showcase their best assets.

Andy LaViolette lined up another package of stunning music for jazz lovers to savor. Tonights music is provided by a quartet headed up by Ronan Lisle on guitar and Alexander Hahn on alto sax, supported by Jake Greeburg on bass and Nolan Byrd on drums.

These musicians play off each other like they have spent years together getting a feel for each other’s stylistic idiosyncrasies, but in actuallity, they all got a phone call just a couple of hours before their set began and showed up to figure out just what the next step would be. It should be noted that these guys see each other on campus on a regular basis and know each other somewhat from their exposure in the jazz program, but this just goes to show the flexibility that comes from one of Denton’s greatest claims to fame, the UNT Jazz Studies programs.

Tonight the quartet played a wide range of jazz including old standards and favorites such as What is This Thing Called Love, by Cole Porter, Charlie Parker’s Yardbird Suite, and Stella By Starlight by Victor Young.

Banter Bistro showcases jazz from local artists every Friday and Saturday night. Please look at our calendar for times and other music and art events at Banter.