Rising jazz musician Orbert Davis and his five-piece band are on stage at Pete Miller’s jamming away to “Priority,” the title track to Davis’ new album. Although it’s 9 p.m. on a Thursday, the host said a “weekend crowd” fills the famed Evanston steakhouse on this particular night.
Bright notes from Davis’ trumpet pierce the air while Kobie Watkins, Davis’ drummer and a student at Northwestern’s graduate school of music, breaks into a light rhythm on the high hat. The trombone, alto saxophone, piano and bass fill in as the dining crowd sits back to listen.
The event is part of the seventh annual Jump & Verve Jazz Festival at Pete Miller’s Steakhouse, 1557 Sherman Ave., and the Nevin’s Live stage, 1450 Sherman Ave. The five-day line up, which began Tuesday and continues through Saturday, opens up the two stages for a total of 17 acts, including local musicians and — as a recent addition to the festival repertoire — high school jazz ensembles.
“The opportunity is so rare,” said Skander Spies, 17, the bassist for the five-member group from Evanston Township High School, which opened for Davis at 7 p.m. “It’s really nice to play in a club where students don’t usually get to play.”
The band got an extra treat at the end of its set when Davis, at the request of the ETHS band director Dave Fodor, joined the boys on stage for a medley of Tadd Dameron’s “Lady Bird” and Miles Davis’ “Half Nelson.”
“It was a pure thrill to play with him,” Spies said.
The Clean Plate Club, which owns Pete Miller’s and Nevin’s, advertised the event under the draw of two-time Grammy award winner Dee Dee Bridgewater, who played Wednesday night at Nevin’s, and Chicago musician Von Freeman, who recently turned 80.
The stage at Nevin’s took the more experimental sounds, while the more traditional ensembles played at Pete Miller’s, Pete Miller’s general manager Mike Rufo said. The shows at Pete Miller’s are free and the shows at Nevin’s have a cover between $5 and $15 depending on the show.
Jennie Berkson and David Edelstein brought their son, Dan, an aspiring jazz drummer at ETHS, to see the Orbert Davis Sextet because, well, they could.
“There aren’t a lot of clubs for kids who are under the drinking age to hear jazz music,” Berkson said.
Before his set, Davis said that he liked the family atmosphere at Pete Miller’s. “Everyone feels comfortable,” he said.
In all likelihood, he would not generally get the opportunity to play alongside high school musicians at other 21-and-over venues, which he would consider a loss.
“I’m an educator, too,” he said. “When I see musicians carrying on the trade, it gets me excited.”
Three on the Keys! and the Howard Fishman Quartet will headline Friday’s shows, and the festival will close out Saturday night with the Swingin’ Southport All-Stars, featuring Johnny Frigo at Pete Miller’s and Andrew Bird’s Bowl of Fire at Nevin’s .
Over the event’s seven-year history, Rufo, who has been the manager at Pete Miller’s for three years, said the festival’s main improvement has been getting more local talent, like Deanna Varagona’s Gospel Jubilee, scheduled to play at 8 p.m. Friday at Nevin’s.
Spies, who spends seven to eight hours of his Saturdays playing orchestral, jazz and chamber music with the Midwest Young Artists group, said with this event Pete Miller’s continues to be one of the primary contributors to the jazz scene in Evanston. Overall, Spies said, the jazz scene in Evanston is only mediocre, “If you want a good scene, you go down to the South Side.” Spies said he has ventured down there — on nights when he doesn’t have homework.
The Jump & Verve festival brings a unique mix of music to a city with a unique culture of music, and Spies said he was grateful for the opportunity to play.
ETHS drummer Ian Weinberger, 15, said the event gave him a glimpse of what might become his future.
“There are some times when Jack (Scheff, pianist), Skander and I will connect, and we play the same thing,” he said. “That’s what you live for.”
