r r i 2 THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 15. 2016 - wanna) CHIONICU . 19 l l l l A...“ ______ , 7 7 7 ~w~â€"â€"â€"â€"â€"â€"â€"â€"â€"â€"~â€" M aking his mark I a a e ks ) Jazz Room 3 new artistic director loo to ' land on club ssuccess Br Boa VnANAC so he gets access to a lot of intema- Chronicle Staff tionally renowned perfumes that we ____.-_â€" â€i hopehewillbeabletobrtrrgin.'said t was a job interview that musi~ ' Preece, â€Mark himself has such an Ician Mark Kelso didn’t even know amazingmusical range. he was taking. ‘ â€That's what appealed to me. his But after numerous times playing \ deï¬nition of jazz is quite expansive. The Ian Room at the historic Huether l ,, He's not somebody who thinks of jam ‘ Hotel, the Grand River Jazz Society as a purist. he's someone who sees its didn‘tjustwanthimioranothetgigâ€" ' potentialinalotofditeaions. they wanted hitn to be the club's new â€That's something that we really artisticdirectorasitheadsimoitssinh mntedtobringimodielazzkoom' season. Kelso said the best part of the new Kelso admits he was suitably flat- ‘ ‘ gig is getting to hear all the demos terred as the longtime drummer was coming in. He said he has already ategtrlarintheroorn,includingbring~ heardenoughyeatstuffdtatheotmld trig his latest band The Jazz Exiles in _ program anothersewon in addition to foratour stop last season. A . the more than 80 shows he’s already “I like to side with a lot of good bookedfortheZOlG/l? season musicians, and they said that’s why ‘l'm hearing a lot of great things for they thought I would make a good the ï¬rst time with people sending me choice.†said Kelso. \ their demos.’ said Kelso, '1 hope to Makingalivingasamusicianhas beabletolxeaksomenewer.youngâ€" always been the goal for the Belfast er acts coming up on the scene that I born percussionist who has played thinkdaa'vesomeattentimt MdthtbelikesoflamesTayloLandcur- "l'm just trying to spread it out tently teaches the skins at the Hum- across the board and give people a bet College music program, He just wide variety. becamewhenyou’re lis- didn't know how many different jobs tening to music every week it’s nice to he would have in the music business. be entertained and Mam.†To say the father of two is busy is m J.» The Jazz Room has built a strong an understatement as he also com- local following with a solid audi- poses and produces music in his own ence base that has earned the area studio : a reputation as a place that respects That also makes him somewhat of x \â€" and appreciates the artists who visit. a talent scout as he sees the next but Mark Kelso is pictured centre with his band The Jazz Exiles The longtime drum and music educator is the new likewise. the artists bring their best young bands ready to break. in addi- artistic director of The Jazz Room at the historic Huether Hotel. Kelso left an impression with the Jan Room as a for- because of that mutual admiration, tion to legends always ready to con met performer. playing with various bands. including the Jazz Exiles. He leads the local club into in sixth season. and it makes The 1m Room a desired tribute a new musical interpretation. â€â€œ7Ҡâ€0"†plate to stop and play. He ï¬nds himself in the middle of jazz New Orleans inspired stuff, but I years under the tutelage of former exploringnewmusical vistas Keslo said it’s amazing the Grand all of that, and it was those extensive also play in a lot of groups influenced artistic director Ted Warren last year. ‘Part ofthat is having a fresh per- Rivet Jazz Society has been able to connections as well as having an ear by Latin America and Afro-Brazilian and had hit the sweet spot of what spective on direction and vision. and build web I duh/ins scene locally, in for something that changes percepr beats.†mkedforboth audiencesand artists new connections and new energy that a great location with a good vibe. that tions. that got him the job of bringing He's also a {an of other genres like â€He helped acme something from someone can bring to that tole.’ said hasartistsbeutinga path to itsdoots. in talent for the local jam club that funk, soul and rhythm and blurs, and nothing.’ said Stephen Preece. the Preeoe. "I'm getting lots of calls.“ said toniinues to make a name for itself on thinks that there is a lot of crossâ€"polâ€" president of the (hand Rivet jazz Sod» He said Kelso has a different must Kelso. 'When it was known I was the thetouring citmrt. lination of those ideas and sounds in etythat saw its littleexperiment in live cal network and that will allow him new guy, i must have got 200 bands “Basically my philosophy is to jazzaswell. "I'm mixing it up. so i give jazz blossom into an important stop to reach out to artists and touch on calling me for gigs. bring great musit to people and hope the audience a wide variety of music 1 on the local music scene. â€He was a trends and themes that The jazz Club 'And to be quite honest with you, It fully have them enjoy it," said Kelso. think is good and hopefully they enjoy hugebeneï¬tto get us rolling" might not have explored up until now really hasn't stopped â€" i keep getting 'l‘m quite open to the many different the kind of joumey that we take them But Preece said every success in its history emails." styles under the jazz umbrella on,†said Kelso. ful arts organization benefits by "Mark is extremely wellrmnnected For a full schedule of the [an 'I like modern jaw, traditional l‘he lazz Room celebrated ï¬ve building on that momentum by as the head of percussion at Number. 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