By: Rudy Lu

The heat did not deter the crowd that gathered for the weekly Jazz on Jay. The humidity was relatively low and so the musicians and the crowd for the most part were comfortable.

Keith Pray is the leader in many projects and a side man in others, For this particular project, he switched from his signature alto sax to playing organ. He had the idea for this project approximately 10 years ago. It was a relatively easy switch for Keith, as the organ functions in a similar fashion to the sax in alternating leads. On this particular outing, veteran drummer Chad Ploss ( Family Tree) and guitarist Mike Novakowski (Thereswere the fellow musicians.

The combo played a mixture of covers and originals to keep the crowd engaged and the toes tapping. That happy place between Jazz, Soul and the Blues were kept for this set.

“Blues for a Cat”, “Circular”, ” When She Smiles” and “The View” are Keith Pray originals.

“The Calling” is a Mike Novakowski original.

“Furry Slippers” is an original of Tony Monaco, a mentor of Keith Pray.

“Sunny” , “Let’s Stay together”, “Reuben Lee” were standards that can be heard at most any organ trio gig.

Mike Novakowki carried the melody with his hollow body electric guitar, adding tasty licks when he soloed with round tones which made the music pleasing.

Chad Ploss’s in the pocket accompaniment and tasty solos added to this fine concert.

The next Jazz On Jay, will feature the sounds of Ragtime Windjammers who will recreate the sounds of early ragtime and early jazz and rag time. Hope you can join us.