The Sax Pack features Jeff Kashiwa (from left), Steve Cole and Kim Waters. Photo provided
By Andrew Tallackson
Trying to conduct serious interviews with members of
The Sax Pack, at times, is darn near impossible.
Ask Steve Cole, Jeff Kashiwa and Kim Waters in separate interviews, for example, why they fell in love with the saxophone and at what age, and the replies are nearly identical. Instruments they first tackled, whether it be clarinet or violin, did little to impress the babes. The saxophone helps do the trick.
Inquire as to how they’d describe their on-stage chemistry, and it’s likened to a comedy act, with jokes over who’s the shortest of the three.
It takes a discussion of the music, itself, to steer the conversation back on track.
Ask Steve Cole, Jeff Kashiwa and Kim Waters in separate interviews, for example, why they fell in love with the saxophone and at what age, and the replies are nearly identical. Instruments they first tackled, whether it be clarinet or violin, did little to impress the babes. The saxophone helps do the trick.
Inquire as to how they’d describe their on-stage chemistry, and it’s likened to a comedy act, with jokes over who’s the shortest of the three.
It takes a discussion of the music, itself, to steer the conversation back on track.
“We have a lot of fun
together,” Waters said. “We really put on a show, talking to each other in a
joking way.
“But when we go to play, we play our horns. It’s serious business.”
The Sax Pack will be joined by openers Darren Rahn and Nate Harasim for the annual Smooth Jazz at South Shore on Saturday, Aug. 20, at Washington Park’s Guy Foreman Amphitheatre.
The group originated with Kashiwa, a Seattle native who got his start with the fusion jazz group The Rippingtons, in 2003 when he watched the 1998 HBO film “The Rat Pack” about the likes of Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr. and Peter Lawford.
“I loved that era,” Kashiwa said. “Those guys, they had a party, and they always invited the audience to the party.”
From there sprang The Sax Pack. Kashiwa knew Cole and Waters, admired their work and called them about starting a group.
Cole recalls arriving at an airport in Albuquerque, N.M., in 2004 for the group’s first gig and instantly knowing the three would click.
“Immediately, it was like we’d known each other for 20 years,” he said, then adding with tongue firmly planted in cheek, “so we proceeded to the bar, and the rest is history.”
What made them a perfect fit?
“Our styles are within the same bandwidth, but within that bandwidth, there is so much variation,” said Cole, who when he’s not performing teaches music-industry management at the St. Paul (Minn.) Conservatory of Music.
“The texture and timbre of our music is a really unique thing.”
“But when we go to play, we play our horns. It’s serious business.”
The Sax Pack will be joined by openers Darren Rahn and Nate Harasim for the annual Smooth Jazz at South Shore on Saturday, Aug. 20, at Washington Park’s Guy Foreman Amphitheatre.
The group originated with Kashiwa, a Seattle native who got his start with the fusion jazz group The Rippingtons, in 2003 when he watched the 1998 HBO film “The Rat Pack” about the likes of Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr. and Peter Lawford.
“I loved that era,” Kashiwa said. “Those guys, they had a party, and they always invited the audience to the party.”
From there sprang The Sax Pack. Kashiwa knew Cole and Waters, admired their work and called them about starting a group.
Cole recalls arriving at an airport in Albuquerque, N.M., in 2004 for the group’s first gig and instantly knowing the three would click.
“Immediately, it was like we’d known each other for 20 years,” he said, then adding with tongue firmly planted in cheek, “so we proceeded to the bar, and the rest is history.”
What made them a perfect fit?
“Our styles are within the same bandwidth, but within that bandwidth, there is so much variation,” said Cole, who when he’s not performing teaches music-industry management at the St. Paul (Minn.) Conservatory of Music.
“The texture and timbre of our music is a really unique thing.”
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