Smooth sound of jazz still fills the air of downtown Cape

Whether it's big band, eclectic bebop or multifaceted modern sounds, jazz music is alive and well in Cape Girardeau. The proof is in the bars.

Patrons of LoDo are treated to jazz music every Friday night when the Lower Downtown Jazz Quartet performs. The quartet is Matt Pittman on bass, Chris Deusinger on saxophone, Jay Contrino on drums and Zach Priester on guitar.

The Lower Downtown Jazz Quartet came about as LoDo owner Brad Pool was seeking something different to entertain his patrons.

"Brad said, 'I want some jazz,'" according to Pittman.

Pittman said that when Pool lived in Colorado, he lived around the corner from a jazz bistro, and wanted to bring that same feel to Cape Girardeau.

Pittman said that after talking to Pool, he and Priester played at LoDo for the 2010 River City Music Festival.

"After that, he asked us to play there every week, and over time I convinced Zach to get the quartet," Pittman said. "It was kind of like a 'we lucked out' kind of thing."

Pittman said the band performs a wide range of music.

"Usually we'll play a few standards, but we do some modern jazz tunes, too," he said. Pittman said they are doing a lot of Michael Brecker. "Chris loves Michael Brecker; so do I. I've wanted to do his stuff for ages, but everyone's been too afraid."

Pittman said that as the night moves on, the energy goes up. "It's some older standards, high-energy jazz and a little bit of funk," he said. "It's not your grandfather's music anymore."

The Lower Downtown Jazz Quartet recently stepped out of LoDo to play in the Cab Calloway Orchestra performance at the Bedell Performance Hallat the Southeast Missouri State University River Campus. They were joined by several Southeast Missouri State University faculty members as well.

For more than 20 years, teachers and students in Southeast's jazz program have entertained listeners with a broad catalog of charts. Over the years, the program has developed into two bands: the Studio Jazz Ensemble and Jazz Lab Band.

Now under the direction of Dr. Robert Conger, the Southeast jazz program performs at least three major concerts a year, including the annual Clark Terry/Phi Mu Alpha Jazz Festival Gala Concert. This concert features international jazz artists as well as the Southeast groups.

Pat Schwent, longtime jazz teacher at Jackson High School, helms Saxy Jazz, a group that plays many events in the area, from wedding receptions to public concerts. The group adjusts its members to the gig, playing as anything from a duo to a 10- or 12-piece group.

Jazz Sultans performs frequently at Buckner Brewing Co. The group is composed of Southeast faculty members Conger on trombone, Matt Yount on piano and Contrino on drums. Sam Godwin, Southeast jazz program alumnus, plays bass, and Michael Goldsmith, a teacher from Mineral Area Community College, plays saxophone.

If those players and groups are seasoned members of the Cape Girardeau music scene, the Lower Downtown Quartet is still in its infancy.

"It started as, 'Hey, let's play some jazz,' and we've only been at it for a few months, so I guess we're still trying to find our identity," Deusinger said. "If we can expand, I'd really like to incorporate a keyboard player and get into some of that saxophone-guitar-oriented dual lines kind of stuff."

Deusinger said he had to move to Cape Girardeau to play jazz.

"I've been living in St. Louis for 10 years, playing with Dr. Zhivegas, and I couldn't buy my way into a jazz gig," he said. "I moved down here, and it's the first gig I get.

"It's just the right combination of the right guy, the right music and people being receptive to it, coming out with open minds and open ears, and it's just kind of coming together," he said.