Yet more jazz

OK, we do other things besides going out to hear great jazz--but most of the stuff we do really doesn't lend itself to interesting photos.

Here you see a recent set at The Elephant Room. What a quintet -- Jeff Lofton on trumpet, Alex Coke on reeds, Dr. James Polk on piano, Michael Stevens on bass and Masumi Jones on drums. (At the point I snapped this one, Jeff was offstage while Alex took the lead and it was impossible to get James in the shot.) The whole group was quite a rainbow coalition-- three African-American men, an Asian woman and a white guy.

With that kind of talent on stage, the place filled up in a hurry. Each of these musicians has a following. In fact, by the time the first set started, there was a line up the stairs and people were having to wait until seats freed up to get inside. (We got there an hour early to secure a front row spot.)

Just another reason why we love living downtown. When we were on Shoal Creek, it was always, "Do we feel like driving down there, finding a place to park, one of us can't drink, etc."

By the way, I think you can see why I always laugh when people say that jazz doesn't draw a crowd in Austin. Oh-- and tonight, we'll be setting up shop in the lounge at Ruth's Chris Steakhouse to hear the Jeff Lofton Trio and ring in the new year. If anyone is downtown, drop by and say Happy New Year!

Shot with my iPhone.