Jazz in the Forest: Shades of Blue: JP Thoma and the Jazztones

 In this exciting retrospective we are focusing on shades of the color Blue, and the influences that color has made to our musical experiences both as a chord structure and as a feeling and musical mood referring to a range of emotions, from the joyous to the distressing. The blues has taken on a specific formal structure that is widely used locally and nationally and been influential in international contexts as well.

Our concert will explore the heritage of the blues as well as its expression in many styles of music-classical, jazz, and ethnic. Our journey will begin with the rural blues of the south- a social and musical crossroads- and then follow developments in American popular and jazz music of the last century. It is a pleasure to create jazz interpretations of such pearls as “Blue Suede Shoes; Blue Christmas; Blue Moon; Blue Velvet; Blue Bayou, Blue Monday. It is difficult to include all the variations on this theme. Remember the MIles Davis “Kind of Blue” collection, and of course,”Blue Eiffel 65″. JP & the Jazztones will regale you on June 14th with as many expressions and moods of the Blues as we can capture for an evening of entertainment.  Our musicians for this special concert are Jean Pierre Thoma on sax, Greg Shirley on vocals and guitar, Shawn James on bass, and Owen Matsui on drums and his fabulous cymbals.

Come join us on Saturday June14 for a great musical adventure – in the Blues!