At 70, Nat Reeves Is Ready For His ‘First Chapter’
Hartford bassist bridges eras from Miles to ‘the Matts’
Bassist Nat Reeves is celebrating his 70th birthday by looking forward to numerous projects in what he calls a ‘first chapter.’ (Photo courtesy Nat Reeves)
When one reaches a certain point in life, one has a lot more time to look back on than forward to (presumably), and in a lot of cases, one doesn’t “work” anymore. Oh, there may be a part-time job or volunteer work, but retirement is often considered one’s “last chapter.”
Not so for bassist Nat Reeves. Nat just turned 70 at the end of May, but there’s no “last chapter” coming up for him.
“No, I’m in my first chapter,” Nat told 8495Jazz with a laugh, then expanded on how bright the horizon looks after decades of combining playing throughout the world and teaching at the University of Hartford’s Jackie McLean Institute of Jazz.
“Now I can wake up any hour of the day or night, (and) practice. I don’t have to do anything I don’t want to do.
“Now I’m in a whole new league and it’s a very good place. I have the best luthier for my bass, the best amplification equipment. I’ve learned I don’t have to be out and about all the time – but when I’m there, I’m there 100 percent.”
Jazz fans in the 8495 may or may not know how fortunate they are that a lot of Nat’s “100 percent” appearances are within a stone’s throw of his Hartford home. In fact, he has two scheduled gigs in the city coming up in the next three weeks:
Monday, June 30, Nat, pianist Mary DiPaola, and drummer Molly Sayles, who bill themselves as the MNM Trio, will be joined by a special guest at Parkville Market.
Monday, July 14, he’ll be appearing with fast-rising alto saxophonist Sarah Hanahan, to whom he has served as a mentor, at the Paul Brown Monday Night Jazz Series show in Bushnell Park.
Oh, and there are plenty of projects he can’t quite divulge fully yet, but the anticipation with which he spoke of them amply demonstrates his upcoming “first chapter” will be rewarding for Nat, his colleagues, and his listeners.
It may or may not take a historian to fully appreciate Nat’s place in the jazz firmament between the titans who created the post-World War II jazz universe and those making their way in today’s very different music business. As he said, many of his heroes are now either passed on to the ancestors or in their 80s.
“I had Jackie McLean introducing me to Miles Davis – he said, ‘Hey Miles, this is my bass player.’ He looked down at my shoes and looked up at me and said ‘That MF must be able to play if he’s with you.’ Jackie said that was quite a compliment.”
And Nat said it was Jackie, the man who really put Hartford on the top tier of jazz cities, who taught him the most vital things about the music, the business, and how to be a good human being.
“Jackie McLean was to me everything, he was my dad and mentor, he showed me how to do this, he helped me with all my international connections.
“He was the one. Him. And he wasn’t easy. If I did something that was a little tricky he’d say ‘Hey, sit down son, let me tell you something.’ He would scold you – ‘I had a band before your were born blah blah blah,’ and you’d be so sad and torn. Then he would later on say ‘Let’s go to lunch. Don’t let too much of yesterday take up too much of today.’”
And Nat has served as a similar role model to younger musicians, not only those who grew up in, and stayed in, Connecticut such as bassist Matt Dwonszyk and pianist Matt DeChamplain, but also those who came from further away, like two generations of musicians from Buffalo’s Hasselback family – trombonist John, Jr., his wife, keyboard player Lisa, and their son, trumpet player John III, all of whom studied at the Hartt School.
“It was at one of his parents’ events that he would hear and meet bassist Nat Reeves for the first time, who taught his parents and, subsequently, him,” an Eastman School of Music graduate school profile of John III, who now teaches at Oberlin University, said. “Hasselback remembers, ‘He had the cleanest suit on, was walking out of the school with his bass and he came up and talked to us, and then, I just was like, ‘I want to be like that guy.’”
“That guy” retains a certain amount of modesty about where he fits in, though he has toured the world with the likes of Sonny Stitt, Kenny Garrett, Pharoah Sanders, Harold Mabern, and of course, Jackie McLean, but he also has the luxury of speaking from a place of experience and gravitas. He can take his time to make sure this “first chapter” is a relaxed one compared to the early days of hustle the Lynchburg, VA, native had to undertake when he first arrived on the New York scene in 1979. When he’s asked to travel for a gig, he can ask for certain concessions younger, less-established musicians can’t.
“I want to be pampered a little bit like my mentors were,” he said. “They could get their car services, they could get there a day early. I’d want it to be no more than an hour set, two sets, and if it’s after a certain hour, I have to have a hotel room. That’s what I need now. I’m 70. I’m not running around.”
But he is still very busy, with music and other pursuits. Like many an autodidact who never stops learning, Nat has taken advantage of circumstance and curiosity to expand his artistic horizons. For instance, he said, he took advantage of the societal lockdown at the beginning of the Covid pandemic to appreciate a time of day many musicians miss out on and hone his photography skills.
“The world stopped and that’s when I really got into going out in the morning catching sunrises. I got some pictures you wouldn’t believe, man.”
“Blue Ridge,” the title track to Nat’s 2018 album of the same name, was #43 in Midder Magazine’s 55 Top Jazz Songs of All Time.
Out and About with 8495Jazz
To alleviate confusion, ticket prices quoted now mention service fees as included or as additional; if fees are not mentioned, there are none to our knowledge. Because fees differ according to ticket type, service fee amounts are not included here but are available on venue web sites.
These listings are a curated sampling of shows in the region. As an independent resource for jazz news, 8495Jazz does not receive any consideration, free tickets, or affiliate fees for these listings. Please confirm events are still happening directly with the venue.
8495Jazz Wild Card Gig of the Week
Florence Griswold Museum, Old Lyme, CT
Juneteenth Celebration w/ jazz, poetry and book signing. Jazz w/ Avery Sharpe Quartet. Today, 2 pm. Free.
8495Jazz Spur of the Moment Gig TODAY
The Parlour, Providence, RI
Al Cron Sextet (trombone, combo), 6 pm. All ages, $10.
Other Shows This Week
VFW Post 399, Westport, CT
Adam Nussbaum, Jay Anderson, Rob Aries, Greg Wall, Thursday, June 26, 7:30 and 8:45 pm. GA $20.76 early set, $10.76 late set.
Pump House Music Works, S. Kingstown, RI
Duke Robillard Quartet, today, 7 pm. GA $28.52 including service fee.
Social Bar and Kitchen, New London, CT
New London Big Band, Wednesday, June 25, 6:30 pm. $17.85 including service fee.
La Zingara, Bethel, CT
David Morgan Quartet (piano, combo), Wednesday, June 25, 7 pm. $23.18 and up, including service fee.
Regattabar, Cambridge, MA
Rhythm Future Quartet w/EvanArntzen (woodwinds vocals), Thursday, June 26, 7:30 pm. GA $41.79 including service fee.
The Side Door, Old Lyme, CT
Carl Allen Quintet (drums, combo), Friday, June 27 and Saturday, June 28, 8 pm. GA $59.75 including service fee.
Jazz Forum Arts, Tarrytown, NY
Ekep Nkwelle (vocals, combo), Friday, June 27 and Saturday, June 28, 7 and 9:30 pm. GA $43, including service fee.
Groton Hill Music Center, Groton MA
Joshua Redman (sax, combo), Friday, June 27, 8 pm. $40-$59 plus service fee. (Low ticket alert)
Palace Theater Poli Club, Waterbury, CT
Sivan Arbel Quartet (vocals, combo), Friday, June 27, 7 and 9 pm. $41, including service fee.
Jams
Cafe Nine, New Haven CT
New Haven Jazz Underground jam, usually 2nd and 4th Tuesday of every month: free admission
Saturday jazz jam most Saturdays, 4 pm. Free.
Blackeyed Sally’s, Hartford, CT
Jazz Wednesdays, featured set 7 pm, jam session afterward.
Carmine’s, East Hartford, CT
Paisley’s All Star Memorial Jam, 3rd Tuesday of the month, 7:30 pm. House band set followed by jam. Free.
Mahoney’s, Poughkeepsie, NY
Poughkeepsie Jazz Project, every Tuesday, 7 pm. Free.
Jazz Societies and Organizations (great info on events, festivals, and more)
Jazz Society of Fairfield County
Jazz Fridays at Three Sheets New Haven 1st/3rd Fridays from 6-9pm
Jazz Thursdays at The Cannon New Haven every other Thurs from 7-9pm.
8495Jazz takes its name from the two Interstate highways that cross our region, I-84 and I-95. Within short driving distances from either, you can find incredible entertainment, from local jams to world-famous festivals in New York, Connecticut, Rhode Island, and Massachusetts. 8495Jazz: From Newburgh to Newport!
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