Gold Bar owner Dennis Miller plays the alto sax with Stan Ferris on guitar, Dan Meyer on the bass, and Rusty Falk on percussion (not pictured) on Friday, Jan. 10. Every Friday and Sunday night, the band plays jazz music at Gold Bar Espresso in Tempe. (Photo by Rachel Nemeh)Almost 100 years ago, F. Scott Fitzgerald coined the term “The Jazz Age” to describe the America he experienced. What better way to experience the same growing liveliness and free-form creativity of our America than through this musical representation?
Dimly lit, cozy and pervaded with the warmth of music and humanity, Gold Bar Espresso on McClintock and Southern is one of the best places in the Valley to get in touch with your jazz side. After an hour of performing, the house jazz band took a break to talk about modern America and its relationship with its favorite music.
Rusty Falk of the band — his name anything but an indication of his skill with a vibraphone — believes that jazz has remained a stable art, because the music itself hasn't changed to appeal to the masses.
“The majority of people are never going to like it,” Falk said. “It’s the individual who pursues odd interests.”
Bassist Dan Meyer agreed.
“I don’t hear people say they like jazz because it’s cool to like jazz,” Meyer said.
The idea is that those who truly appreciate this style of music don’t do so because it is the music of the day, but because of genuine eclectic interest.
According to guitarist Stan Ferris, the independence of listeners does not mean that jazz is not a vibrant part of modern musical culture.
“Jazz is alive and well, but you have to look for it,” Ferris said.
Technology, he says, has made this easier than it ever has been.
“That’s the benefit of YouTube, they can actually see famous performers perform, and learn the culture of the music," Ferris said.
Dennis Miller owns the 21-year-old Gold Bar with his wife, Karen, and plays alto sax in the band. He expanded on the belief that technology can be positive for jazz.
“I don’t need radio to listen to jazz. I just plug in my computer and bring on the app and play it,” Miller said.
He does think that despite this, older styles of music are under-appreciated by the youth of today.
“The biggest joy I have is when I get in the car and I hear one of my kids playing jazz or classical music,” Miller said.
Now-and-then patron James Gast shared many of the sentiments of the musicians. He lamented that, as far as music is concerned, “Some sheep just run with the times.”
But when it comes to modern culture in general, he said that everyone is embracing change.
After all, we have a freedom to pursue various interests not seen since the original jazz age, and technology to make any interest pursuable, so how can we not?
You can listen to Miller and his band as they tell a musical story that echoes through the ages at “Jazz Night” on Friday and Sunday nights at Gold Bar Espresso at 7:30 p.m.
Reach the reporter at Sergio.H.Martinez@asu.edu or follow on Twitter @shmartin09
