This week 7.21.2025 Monday Jazz @ Brother Don’s features guest artist & multi-percussionist Jacques Willis on vibes. You may have seen Jacques dancing up and down the vibraphone, keyboard or drums, with anyone from country wanderers Brent Amaker and the Rodeo to blues rock wailer Star Anna. The instrumentalist has also performed with Julian Priester, Mark Pickerel, Duff McKagan, Skerik … all kinds of crazy musicians. At the risk of utter corniness, one might say that he is something of a “Jacques-of-all-trades.” Hailing from the great northern city of Anchorage, Alaska, where every musician in town knows one another on sight, Willis was scooped up into the world of Latin ensemble performance as a young lad by none other than his percussion teacher, the nationally renowned John Damberg. Damberg recognized that throwing the bright but inexperienced 13-year-old up on stage to mix a little freshness in with the usual cast of 40-somethings would not only provide valuable experience for an aspiring youngster but would most likely make for a prudent business move to boot. The young Willis quickly proved himself to be worth more than sheer novelty. Sure, he started out as the token shaker boy, but soon he progressed to emperor of the shaker, and from there…congas! Timbales! Drum set! Anchorage was feeling smaller by the minute. All it took was one summer at Centrum in Port Townsend to leave Willis’ heart set on the big city. Having already fostered familiarity with a number of the faculty, who doubled at Centrum and at Cornish, Willis enrolled at Cornish College of the Arts in 1999. Jacques is now full speed ahead into the world of teaching and performing music, he now enjoys a life of getting slammed to the floor by day and leaving the audience wanting more by night. With faithful best friend Oscar the dog at his side, Willis feels ever-increasingly confident about both the present and the future. A new solo album comes out later this year. Victoriously titled Jacques One, Music Zero, the album features overdubs on overdubs of the man himself playing a wide array of instruments, along with guest spots by some familiar faces. “It’s sort of a personal experiment,” Willis explains. “I figured if your goal from the get-go is to work with layering, you might as well push the limits of how far you can go with it.” Encouraging words, for Willis’ story is nothing if not evidence for the untold bounties that experiments can bring.

Also in the band Kacey Evans on keys, Ronnie Bishop on drums, and Osama Afifi on bass. Enjoy great food, your favorite beverage, a comfortable kid friendly atmosphere, and WORLD CLASS JAZZ … Hope to see you!

Check out all of the great Monday Jazz at: https://www.chrisbickleyjazz.com/calendar