Trio to perform at Java
Roaster
 By
Nicole Arias
Staff Writer
Three local musicians who have more than 50 years
of performing experience among them made a plan three months ago to
form a group that hopes to revitalize jazz in the Lafayette area.
After a handful of phone calls and rejections,
the jazz group’s first performance will be at 8 p.m. Friday at
the Java Roaster, 130 N 3rd St. in Lafayette.
The members of the jazz group, The Trio, are Scott
Pazera of Lafayette, a bass player; Danny Weiss of West Lafayette, a
saxophone player; and Judd Danby of Crawfordsville, a pianist and a
professor of music at Wabash College.
"We want people to have places to go to hear
live jazz," Pazera said. "I’m not doing it to book gigs
or make a lot of money. I have no dreams of big success; the music is
rewarding in itself."
Weiss agrees, "My goal is to create more interest
in jazz and in live music in general. I hope the Greater Lafayette area
will become more supportive of jazz."
There is a tight-knit community of jazz musicians
all over the state, but it has nowhere to go, said Pazera.
"This is how we make our living, but it’s
hard to do it if there is no place to do it," he said.
Even though some businesses can offer musicians
a venue, they can't offer the performers much financially. For instance,
because the Java Roaster doesn’t have a cover charge and it doesn’t
have an entertainment budget, performers receive most of their payment
from "suggested donations" or tips.
"The Java Roaster is doing us a favor by providing
us with a venue to perform and, hopefully, we’re doing them a favor
by bringing in people," Pazera said. "Hopefully, they’ll
want to do this again."
In addition to hosting The Trio's first performance,
the Java Roaster will also be the place that two of the members will
first meet, but Danby said this newness will only add to the variety
of the show.
"The music will evolve throughout the evening,"
he said.
"Jazz is the only true music art form that
is constantly creative," Pazera said. "It’s a challenge
every time you play it; that is why it’s so rewarding."
The Trio wants to give other musicians the opportunity
to be showcased, so horn players are welcome to sit in with the group
at the performance Friday.
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