Dave Whitman banging the skinsBy Rachel Wick
Anyone who thinks that jazz clubs are solely for bigger cities like Minneapolis or Chicago is mistaken.
The Eau Claire bar, The Stones Throw, transforms into a jazz club every Monday night with the music of The Jason Craft Q-tet and the intimate ambience of the building adorned with stain glass windows.
"It's the best live music on a regular basis in Eau Claire," said Cliff Montzak, a frequenter of Jazz Night.
The Q-tet consists of Jason Craft on piano, Graydon Peterson on bass, Dave Whitman on drums and Tom Krochock on the trumpet.
"I think that the simple fact that a town like Eau Claire has something like Monday night jazz is really representative of a very healthy music scene. Towns this size don't always have something as beautiful as Monday night jazz," said Whitman.
Music enthusiasts may choose to kick back with a few martinis and take in the music or at times will take it to the dance floor and sway for a song or two.
"I'd like to think that jazz at the Stones Throw is the kind of place where a person, who has never listened to jazz before in his life, can come down and be absolutely amazed at what he's hearing onstage and not even realize that it's jazz," said Whitman.
Craft has a music degree from UW-Eau Claire and currently does freelance piano work in Minneapolis, Minn.
Peterson also has a music degree from UW-Eau Claire and is a freelance bass player in Minneapolis in his spair time.
"To be able to play with musicians like Jason, Graydon and Tom is actually really inspiring in and of itself," said Whitman.
Whitman currently takes lessons in New York with a drummer named Joe Morello of the Dave Brubeck Quartet.
He also studied two and one half years with David King of the groups The Bad Plus and Happy Apple.
Krochock is also attending UW-Eau Claire working his way towards a music degree.
Members of the group have also played with the Jimmy Dorsey Orchestra and musical theater in the Twin Cities.
"Individually or as a group we have played with some of the best jazz musicians in the world.
"Often times this is the most fun gig that we have because it's a place where we can get together and really play the kind of jazz that we want to play.
"It's funny every time I play on a Monday night I leave more excited to play than when I got down here. I have such a good time onstage," said Whitman.
The group started around four years ago as the Andrew Neesley Quartet with Peterson and Craft as part of the group since it's beginnings, while Whitman has been a part of the group for almost three years.
Guests such as singer Jamie Howard and Neesley will sometimes pop in and play a few sets with the band. Area saxophone player John Timmers has also frequently played with the group.
"I think jazz is enjoyable to play because it's easier to make a connection with the audience," Whitman said. It's feeding off of the people in the audience who provide us with our direct inspiration when we're onstage, which gives a chance to express ourselves more fully than any other type of music can."
The Q-tet makes a point of not playing the same songs every week and enjoys mixing up arrangements of songs to produce a more unique sound.
"We have our own arrangement of "God Bless the Child" (a Billie Holliday song) that we like to do, we have our own arrangement of Miles Davis' "Footprints," but we really don't have a favorite song and we really don't have anything that we play too often," Whitman said. "Half the time we don't know what we're going to play until we play it, and then when we do play it, it just comes out amazing. We surprise ourselves really every time that we come down.
"There is something to be said for The Stones Throw, this building and this bar. Especially at night when the light comes through the windows, it makes you feel like you are in a big city, a truly cosmopolitan, urban area," said Whitman and Montzak agrees.
The Eau Claire bar, The Stones Throw, transforms into a jazz club every Monday night with the music of The Jason Craft Q-tet and the intimate ambience of the building adorned with stain glass windows.
"It's the best live music on a regular basis in Eau Claire," said Cliff Montzak, a frequenter of Jazz Night.
The Q-tet consists of Jason Craft on piano, Graydon Peterson on bass, Dave Whitman on drums and Tom Krochock on the trumpet.
"I think that the simple fact that a town like Eau Claire has something like Monday night jazz is really representative of a very healthy music scene. Towns this size don't always have something as beautiful as Monday night jazz," said Whitman.
Music enthusiasts may choose to kick back with a few martinis and take in the music or at times will take it to the dance floor and sway for a song or two.
"I'd like to think that jazz at the Stones Throw is the kind of place where a person, who has never listened to jazz before in his life, can come down and be absolutely amazed at what he's hearing onstage and not even realize that it's jazz," said Whitman.
Craft has a music degree from UW-Eau Claire and currently does freelance piano work in Minneapolis, Minn.
Peterson also has a music degree from UW-Eau Claire and is a freelance bass player in Minneapolis in his spair time.
"To be able to play with musicians like Jason, Graydon and Tom is actually really inspiring in and of itself," said Whitman.
Whitman currently takes lessons in New York with a drummer named Joe Morello of the Dave Brubeck Quartet.
He also studied two and one half years with David King of the groups The Bad Plus and Happy Apple.
Krochock is also attending UW-Eau Claire working his way towards a music degree.
Members of the group have also played with the Jimmy Dorsey Orchestra and musical theater in the Twin Cities.
"Individually or as a group we have played with some of the best jazz musicians in the world.
"Often times this is the most fun gig that we have because it's a place where we can get together and really play the kind of jazz that we want to play.
"It's funny every time I play on a Monday night I leave more excited to play than when I got down here. I have such a good time onstage," said Whitman.
The group started around four years ago as the Andrew Neesley Quartet with Peterson and Craft as part of the group since it's beginnings, while Whitman has been a part of the group for almost three years.
Guests such as singer Jamie Howard and Neesley will sometimes pop in and play a few sets with the band. Area saxophone player John Timmers has also frequently played with the group.
"I think jazz is enjoyable to play because it's easier to make a connection with the audience," Whitman said. It's feeding off of the people in the audience who provide us with our direct inspiration when we're onstage, which gives a chance to express ourselves more fully than any other type of music can."
The Q-tet makes a point of not playing the same songs every week and enjoys mixing up arrangements of songs to produce a more unique sound.
"We have our own arrangement of "God Bless the Child" (a Billie Holliday song) that we like to do, we have our own arrangement of Miles Davis' "Footprints," but we really don't have a favorite song and we really don't have anything that we play too often," Whitman said. "Half the time we don't know what we're going to play until we play it, and then when we do play it, it just comes out amazing. We surprise ourselves really every time that we come down.
"There is something to be said for The Stones Throw, this building and this bar. Especially at night when the light comes through the windows, it makes you feel like you are in a big city, a truly cosmopolitan, urban area," said Whitman and Montzak agrees.
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