Saturday, September 30, 2023
5:30pm-7:30pm; SoKY Marketplace, Bowling Green, Kentucky
FREE ADMISSION (Food truck/beverages on site)
Sponsored by The Presbyterian Church of Bowling Green
Jazz West the concept: Five musicians who’ve played together for years in duets, trios, and quartets but, until last October, not in this quintet combination. They all have a deep connection to Western Kentucky and to each other. It’s time to combine and conquer! Now in their second year together, and after a smokin’ night in last fall’s Sunset Jazz, they will rejoin in another exhilarating performance: SUNSET REPRISE.
Sharing like values in taste, appreciation and preservation for jazz music is core to this collective. But there’s more – they each have a side that guides them in a different direction. The set list: “Everyone pick something you would like to be featured on and just some tunes you want to play.” The suggestions and ideas roll in. Jazz master Ryan Jones prioritizes and organizes everything from Blues to Bop, Latin to Funk and Standards to Pop. You may hear a favorite song done alla jazz, bringing a fresh new sound to timeless music or just be treated to a tasty jazz chestnut.
THE PLAYERS
Marshall Scott (trumpet) and his wife Karen are retired empty nesters residing in Bowling Green. He taught collegiate trumpet majors and directed college jazz bands for over 30 years and had the honor of teaching trumpet at the Interlochen Arts Camp for fourteen summers. He has enjoyed playing in a wide variety of musical ensembles from jazz to classical backing up headliners including Aretha Franklin, Bernadette Peters, Natalie Cole, Four Tops/Temptations, and others.
Jim Long (tenor sax) is a practicing internal medicine and hospice/palliative care specialist who has had a lifelong side gig playing all types of music. Jim has been the woodwind specialist (including harmonica) with the classic rock/soul/blues group The Cruisers in Paducah for over thirty years and with the Paducah Jazz Patrol big band for over 10 years. He played in the award-winning Murray State Jazz Ensemble and combo and in various jazz and jazz fusion groups. As an active community member, Jim serves as Board Chairman for the Paducah Symphony Orchestra.
Ryan Jones (piano) is a pianist and pedagogue from Muhlenberg County, Kentucky. In 2018, Jones moved to Cincinnati as a master’s degree candidate at the world renown University of Cincinnati – College Conservatory of Music. Noted for his ability to play a wide variety of musical styles with ease, Ryan quickly became a mainstay in the professional music scene. Ryan and his wife have moved to Clarksville, Tennessee, for him to pursue a career as a studio musician. Jones is happily married to his wife of six years, Kristen.
Wayne Pope (bass, vocals) has taught voice at WKU for the past 24 years. He’s as comfortable with a symphony orchestra as he is a big band, jazz combo or country band where he cut his teeth. He has often joined the Mineral Area Kicks Band in concerts such as From Bach to Basie, A Singin’ Affair! and with Grammy-nominated composer/arranger Kris Berg in a concert of Modern Jazz. Wayne also serves as the Choir Director at The Presbyterian Church of Bowling Green Kentucky where he makes his home with his wife, Beth.
Dean Hughes (drums) is a regular with the long-running Todd Hill Orchestra and trio. He knows no limit when it comes to genre, having crossed over into every idiom of popular music from every decade of this and last century. It is well known that if you have Dean Hughes on drums, your problems are over, and the fun has just started. Dean is the Chief Technology Officer at Kentucky Dataseam Initiative, Inc.
Beth Pope (special guest vocalist) teaches voice at Western Kentucky University. Many of her students are currently engaged in professional theatres, touring companies, cruise lines and theme parks throughout the United States. She has performed throughout the US and abroad in multiple concert and recital appearances with groups such as the Bowling Green Choral Society, Orchestra Kentucky, Nashville Opera, Leadville Music Festival, and the New Orleans Mastersingers.
-submitted by The Presbyterian Church of Bowling Green