Jazzoula Presents “Piano Solos, Duos, & Trios”

Doors @ 7:00 pm

Jazzoula presents ‘Piano Solos, Duos, & Trios’ a very special evening featuring some of Montana’s finest pianists including Jim Driscoll, Bob Packwood, Connor Racicot, and Ann Tappan.

Pianist extraordinaire Jim Driscoll is one of Western Montana’s best secrets. A Butte, Montana native and a classical piano prodigy he discovered jazz at an early age. He quickly became a professional, touring nationally and in the mid 1980’s was “discovered” by the US Air Force at piano bar gig while studying for his masters in composition at University of Maryland. He was immediately offered a job (and signed him up for service as a 35 year old) as a soloist in one of the most prestigious bands in world -the Airman of Note also know as the Glen Miller 18 piece band where he played at the White House and touring internationally. He advanced to his own jazz orchestra as soloist and arranger for another Air Force band in Japan for many years. He has played with the likes of Ella Fitzgerald, Tony Bennett, Wynton Marsallis, Vince Gill, Crystal Gayle to name a few. Retired in Missoula now Jim is a member of the renown Missoula jazz group Basement Boyz and fronts his own trio.He will be joined by bassist Pete Hand and Ed Stalling on drums.

Bob Packwood is a multi-keyboardist/composer/recording engineer with over 50 years professional experience including extensive international touring and studio recordings. His participation as a finalist in the 1988 Thelonious Monk International Jazz Competition was inspiration for a move to New York City where he spent the next 15 years absorbing the creative energy and electric inspiration of the Big Apple’s East Village. Opportunities developed that led to lengthy European and Canadian touring and ultimately over 50 recordings with a wide range of original songwriting artists recorded mainly in New York City, Nashville and Toronto. Bob has appeared on stage with Neil Young, Jim Lauderdale, Steve Earle, Ron Sexsmith, Cyril Neville, Hank Williams III, Blue Rodeo, The Sadies and many others.

The Connor Racicot Trio brings a fresh perspective to great American standards. Featuring Owen Cleary on the upright bass and Sam Purvis on the drums and cymbals, the trio distills nearly 80 years of influences into a modern and exciting sound.

Ann Tappan grew up in Montclair, New Jersey where she started playing piano at the age of four. She entered Berklee College of Music to study jazz piano, composition and arranging then returned to the NYC area to connect with the avant-garde loft scene of the ‘70s. In 1976 Ann relocated to the Bay Are to study with ECM pianist Art Lande becoming part of his experimental jazz school, first as a student then as an instructor. During her time in the Bay Area, she wrote and arranged for many live and recorded projects and performed with such giants as Eddie Henderson and Joe Henderson. Ann migrated to Montana in 1993. She was the author and administrator of a 2001 MAC/Jazz Montana grant, a year-long creative music program linking national and local professional musicians to state-wide audiences and K-12 students. She was a faculty member (along with Phil Aaberg and David Morganroth) of the Montana Jazz Piano Workshop, Bozeman’s Camp Epic and in 2017 was Artist in Residence at Hanford High School in Richland, WA.

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