Group plays classic jazz

It began 34 years ago as a once-a-week gig at Rapp’s Pizza Train at the corner of Sixth and Washington streets. Pizza, jazz and friends make the night perfect.
These casual performances were the seeds of a musical project that has grown to something great.

The Jazz Fables Quintet is a continuous musical project founded and maintained by jazz artist David Miller. 

Though members of the original group have changed, the initiative of the group has remained the same.

“The name ‘Jazz Fables’ implies a group that was established to perform the great musical and mythological telling of jazz stories of modern jazz,” Miller said.

Miller, who plays trumpet for the group, said the ensemble has lived up to its name through the group’s chosen compositions.

He said when considering pieces for performance, he often turns to historically famed jazz quintets. Most notable are those led by great jazz musicians such as Miles Davis and Charlie Parker.

The Quintet currently plays in a concert series of its own namesake. 

The Jazz Fables Concert Series at Bear’s Place started in 1989 and has remained a popular fixture for Bloomington jazz fans ever since.

Miller marked the event as the longest running jazz concert series outside of the IU Jazz Ensembles’ Monday night series at the Musical Arts Center.

But despite its friendly competition, the Quintet and Jacobs share common ground beyond musical genre. When the Quintet was formed, the group was composed entirely of IU jazz studies majors and Miller. 

Two of those original members, Tom Walsh and Luke Gillespie, are still members of the ensemble and are associate professors in saxophone and jazz studies, respectively.

Walsh contributes to the melodic frontline of the group on the tenor sax and Gillespie provides a rhythmic base on the piano.

Miller said working with highly accomplished artists and composers such as Walsh and Gillespie is his “great privilege.”

“They are all extraordinary individuals with great senses of humor and knowledge about music and the like, which I have come to greatly appreciate,” he said.

Walsh’s sentiments mirrored Miller’s, and he described the process of playing with fellow jazz enthusiasts.

“The interest for us is that, while each soloist is telling their own story, they are also responding to what the other musicians are playing at the same time,” he said. “We often refer to that dynamic in a jazz group as being like a conversation.”

The Quintet has worked to bring that conversation outside of the humble pizza parlor setting. 

On Oct. 1, the group will perform at Café D’jango, much to the pleasure of D’jango’s owner, Linda “Chana” Eversoll.

“I first heard Miller play when I was a server here four years ago,” she said. “He has been playing here ever since. I’m so proud to have them perform in my café. Tom Walsh, and Luke — all of them are so talented.”