Boxley's legacy: Danny and Robyn Kolke turn to foundation to preserve North Bend jazz club's music, education
Intergeneration jazz happens on a Wednesday night at Boxley’s. Front, from left, Danny and Robyn Kolke, at right, Chris Clark. Back row, Eric Thurston, Jared Byford, Max Cannella, Walker Byford, Brian Gmerek.— Image Credit: Seth Truscott/Staff Photo
by SETH TRUSCOTT, Snoqualmie Valley Record Editor Feb 18, 2014 at 3:45PM
An up-and-comer in the world of jazz drumming, Walker Byford learns as he plays. Byford is just 10 years old. By rights, he should prefer the newest pop music. But there’s something about jazz.
“You’re able to play whatever you want,” says Byford, who listens as his teacher, local jazz drummer Brian Gmerek, improvises riffs to the sounds of Chris Clark’s bass.
The two adult musicians are jamming on the stage at Boxley’s, the jazz club and restaurant in downtown North Bend, as middle-school and high-school age jazz musicians arrive for their Wednesday night show.
“It’s easier to play jazz with a group,” says Byford. So, veteran musicians like Clark and Gmerek play alongside young people who are just beginning their journeys in jazz.
“It’s a great experience, for us and for them,” says Gmerek.
It’s that mixing of the old and new generations of players that’s one of the core facets of Boxleys
Keeping education and performance is a key reason why the club is changing from a business to a non-profit.
On January 1, owners Danny and Robyn Kolke turned their restuarant over to the Boxley Music Fund, the non-profit organization they founded in 2010.
It was part of a master plan to keep jazz flowing for many years to come.
Read more: http://www.valleyrecord.com/news/246062911.html
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