Jazz Band Preps for Laurel Gig

Jazz saxophonist Jeff Antoniuk, frontman of The Jazz Update, moved to the states to study music, but he learned what it meant to be a musician in his hometown of Edmonton in Alberta, Canada.

 “It’s not a small town, but there’s not much on the outskirts,” said Antoniuk.  He watched his music teachers, his role models—they never passed up a gig. 

 “They were jacks-of-all-trades. When the Ice Capades came to town, they worked the Ice Capades gigs,” said Antoniuk.  “When there was a symphony gig, they did a symphony gig.  I learned that work ethic. You get good at a lot of things and you get comfortable in a lot of settings.”

Antoniuk operates on few settings: as a musician and music workshop teacher, but also as leader of the band The Jazz Update, for which he is also manager, public relations professional and graphic designer. The band is set to appear at the Montpelier Arts Center in South Laurel this Friday.

The Jazz Update is made up of similarly gifted tradesmen: bassist Tom Baldwin, pianist Wade Beach and drummer Tony Martucci.  Each is a teacher at a different local university and a frequent performer in the area, playing with different groups several times a month. 

“I put my dream band together,” Antoniuk said.  “The top-call players in town.”

Top-call doesn’t always mean well-attended. Antoniuk says building an audience that will support live music is difficult. 

“It’s really an uphill battle, certainly for jazz, which isn’t the most popular music,” said Antoniuk. “But even if you were to talk to a pretty high rock or R&B, or go-go musician in D.C. who might be on the verge of superstardom, they would tell you the same thing: that finding the audience is hard, that getting paid for what you do is difficult.”

“Music is so meaningful for people but ... how they support it in an active way is different,” said Antoniuk.

Ruth Harwood, acting director of the Montpelier Arts Center, said the center's location should allow for easy access to area residents who want an evening of live music.

"We live in an area with a lot of demands on people’s time,” she said.  “That’s the beauty of Montpelier—you don’t have to go anywhere. It’s not going to the Kennedy Center. [But] the same people play here as play there.”

Harwood booked The Jazz Update in this year’s Spring Jazz Series at Montpelier.  She first met Antoniuk through one of his other trades.

“He was holding a Latin rhythm workshop,” said Harwood, who subsequently bought lessons for her children.  “So that’s how I met Jeff. I had been trying for a couple of years to get him on the schedule.” 

Antoniuk says The Jazz Update will perform songs from the band’s latest CD, Brotherhood, which contains original compositions by Antoniuk and bassist Baldwin. 

“But we like to mix it up with classic music from people like Duke Ellington, Thelonius Monk,” said Antoniuk, “plenty for jazz aficionados to recognize.”

The Jazz Update plays at the Montpelier Arts Center on Friday, April 29 at 8 p.m.