Jazz Band Seeks Local Pianist

353 Great Road, Stow MA

Description

The Parish Jazz Band, based in Stow, Massachusetts, seeks a pianist. We are an eighteen-year-old octet, but currently our only chordal instrument is the guitar. We would like to add a piano into the mix. Some familiarity with the jazz repertoire is advisable, but we are a supportive and friendly amateur group where musicians are encouraged to explore and grow. This would be an ideal role for a young pianist who wants to perform with a group and expand his or her musical range, or for an older person who used to play jazz and wants to get back to it. Bandmembers' ages range from about 32 to almost 70. In terms of required skills, you should be able to comp, know how to play in an ensemble, and feel comfortable with improvisation. You must know what a jazz chord is. (If you don't know what a Dm7-5 is, for example, and can't immediately rattle off the four notes that comprise that chord, then this role is probably not for you.) We rehearse twice a month for 2-1/2 hours on Monday evenings in Stow. The pianist should probably live nearby: Maynard, Hudson, Marlborough, Bolton, Sudbury, Boxboro, Harvard, etc. Our gigs are also nearby, and we play out about eight to ten times a year, for audiences ranging from 25 to 150 people. We play at Church suppers, private parties, anniversaries, farmers' markets, Chambers of Commerce, and the local winery in Bolton. Gigs are generally on the weekends. Our repertoire is the Great American Songbook, with a little modal jazz and a few bossa novas thrown in. Our current make-up is: drums, bass, guitar, trombone, tenor sax, trumpet, flute, and vocalist. About 60-70% of our songs are vocal numbers, that is, they feature our vocalist, who is quite talented. So knowing how to back up a vocalist, or having a willingness to learn how to back up a vocalist, is important. Please contacts the Band's musical director, Michael Paladini, using any of the means posted nearby, to learn more. Thank you. ~mp