Dear Friends,
On a lark, Tracey and I went to Winter’s Jazz Club last night to hear the Jeremy Kahn Trio with guest trumpeter Millie Ahearn. Winter’s Jazz Club is right on the river in McClurg Court. To walk along the river lit by a full October moon is gift enough, but it was followed by an hour of beautiful music.
The club wasn’t crowded on a Thursday night but the audience was rapt as the musicians played classics from Cole Porter and Billie Strayhorn: “Love for Sale,” “All of You,” “Lush Life,” and more. I love watching musicians, especially jazz musicians, play together. I suspect they’re having way more fun, all the time, than the rest of us! And last night was no exception.
The bandleader, pianist Jeremy Kahn, took delight in playing with his former student trumpeter Millie Ahearn, who played soulfully and sensitively. I love the way musicians watch each other for their cues, paying close attention to when to come in as accompaniment or for solos, when to play to highlight another musician’s playing, when to play for attention. It’s a beautiful ballet of subtle cues, careful attention, celebrating individual talent even as individuals are invited to the humility and magic of blending for the group.
All of this was made more lovely by the fact that Ahearn is a trans woman and the show was titled “Music by Porter and Strayhorn: Unforgettable Contributions to the Jazz Songbook from the Queer Community.” To see three older jazz men playing with a very young trans woman, all delighting in one another’s talent and musicianship, heightened the usual joy of live music.
There is beauty and joy all around us. All we have to do is look.
See you in church!
Faithfully, Suzanne+