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| Jay Epstein, with an airborne missle, with Bryan Nichols' ensemble's tribute to Keith Jarrett (2012) |
© Andrea Canter
I don't recall when or in what context I first saw drummer
Jay Esptein, but I am sure it was at the Artists Quarter. Maybe with Red
Planet, or Bill Carrothers or perhaps backing a vocalist. Aside from hearing his talents behind the
trapset, I have always enjoyed watching Jay -- arms flailing with a certain
symmetry, sticks and often other objects cutting arcs through the air, those
sudden jabs at the cymbals that catch you by surprise at just the right moment.
At a recent Red Planet gig, it looked like he had raided the kitchen cupboard,
finding spoons and egg beaters as more than adequate substitutes for brushes
and mallets. One of my favorite Jay-enhanced gigs at the AQ was as part of Bill
Carrothers "Armistice 1918" project -- his percussion arsenal
included gongs and shakers. A few years later he added percussion to Bryan
Nichols' usual quintet in a salute to Keith Jarrett's American Quartets--more
shakers, more hand-held objects.
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| Jay and eggbeaters |
Red Planet, the trio with Dean Magraw and Chris Bates, is
perhaps the most popular of Jay's ongoing projects, but he's also managed time
for Easy Company with Anthony Cox and Bill Carrothers and Framework with Chris
Olson and Chris Bates. Away from the AQ, he's been heard on tour with Five by
Design and with pianist Mary Louise Knutson. But the AQ seems to be his musical
home --even on recent nights when he has played in the house band for the
adjacent Park Square Theater, Jay heads down to the AQ after the final curtain.
Just to hang out and listen. Another face in the crowd -- until he gets behind
the trapset. Then he's part of the heartbeat of the AQ.
