After a little break from blogging, I'm excited to come back with a plug for a friend! Keith Karns is a boss trumpet player and former classmate of mine and Corey's. He is currently based out of the Indianapolis area after graduating with his master's in trumpet performance at Indiana University. He's been busting his butt putting together his big band, recording an album, and planning a tour.
The Keith Karns Big Band plays mostly original works and arrangements by Keith himself. The sound is really contemporary while remaining true to the roots of big band. Not sure if you're into that kind of thing? Give 'em a listen for free! As of last night, you can download the track "Salt Water Rocket" from the band's web site free of charge. The full CD, "Thought and Memory," will be available for download on May 1st. (The CD features other players that are former classmates and colleagues of ours that are great in their own right.)
You can catch the debut tour of the Keith Karns Big Band next month in cities throughout the greater Midwest. (I'm super jealous of Corey. He is going to WI to visit his former comp teacher's class, so he's going to catch the show in Minneapolis.)
I couldn't resist, so I asked Keith to be my guinea pig for my new "Musician File" interview feature. I hope you dig it!
Name: Keith Karns
Age: 27
Location: Indianapolis, IN
Musical occupation: Band leader/composer/trumpeter
Media: www.keithkarnsmusic.com, facebook.com/keithkarnsmusic
What are you working on now that you are really excited about?
I’m really pumped about the CD release and our tour at the beginning of May. The album sounds AWESOME and we had so many talented people work on it so I can’t wait to get that out there. We’re playing some really great venues, but the three that I am most excited about are at Jazz Central in Minneapolis on May 3rd, the State Theater in Eau Claire on May 5th, and the Blue Wisp in Cincinnati on May 13th. I think we’re going to have a great turnout and I’m pumped to get this music out there!
What are you working on now that you are really stressed about?
Getting all of the logistics together for the album release and tour has been pretty intense. A lot goes into planning something like this and that definitely keeps me busy. I have been lucky to have a great team of people helping me out with booking and promotion so that helps a lot. I don’t know what I would do if it were not for them!
What inspires you to keep writing/practicing/playing when you’re going through a rough patch?
I have a pretty strong work ethic, but there are defiantly days when all I want to do is sit on the couch and watch TV. Fortunately (or maybe unfortunately!) the trumpet is a pretty vindictive instrument so if you don’t have a solid practice regimen you really won’t be able to play the horn. Knowing that there are things I have to do on the horn every day regardless of how I feel keeps me coming back to the practice room. When I started writing when I was in college I applied that same kind of discipline to the rest of my creative endeavors and it seems to work out pretty well.
Tell me about your most memorable musical experience as an audience member:
When I was 12 or 13 Ingrid Jensen came through my hometown as a guest artist at the local jazz festival. I had been playing trumpet for a number of years in school, but wasn’t really serious about it. She totally blew my mind. It was the late 90’s and she was doing the post bop thing, playing in and out of the changes, I remember I walked out of that concert speechless. After that I knew I wanted to play like her so I signed up for a summer jazz camp and began take lessons, two things that eventually would lead me to where I am today.
What is your favorite not-music-related pastime?
I love the outdoors. I grew up in Alaska and so hiking and camping was a big part of what we did as a family up there. I don’t get enough of that stuff these days, but whenever I have the chance I try and get out as much as I can.
Would you recommend the last book or article you read to someone else?
I’ve been really into old school detective fiction this year. The two best novels I’ve read recently are Ross MacDonald’s Sleeping Beauty—which is SUPER dark, but a really well crafted story—and Mikey Spillane’s My Gun is Quick—which is so gritty its almost a caricature of the detective genre. I also just finished re-reading Nick Tucker’s “The Duke Ellington Reader” on the life and music of Duke Ellington. I think Tucker’s book is probably the best one out there right now about Duke. He does a great job and it really reveals a lot about Duke and how he ran his band and his compositional process.
Who would you invite if you could have any 6 people, living or dead, over for a dinner party?
I would have to go with Jim McNeely, Maria Schneider, Bob Brookmeyer, Duke Ellington, Doc Severinson and Woody Shaw. We would probably talk about music.
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