Just got back from the Tom Paynter Memorial at the Iron Post in Urbana. It was great to see such a big turnout. Brad Wheeler’s quartet (with Jose Gobbo on guitar, Ben Taylor on bass, and Jeff Magby on drums) took on the task of playing several pieces from Tom’s book. Lots of musicians were there to honor Tom, including Jeff Helgesen, Josh Quirk, Ben Grosser, Erik Lund, Lamonte Parsons, and others. There were even a few sit-ins, as drummer Justin Kramer, bassist Elliott Torres and trumpeter Ivo Braun played a couple standards
We’ll post the full gig very shortly, but here’s a taste for now: Tom’s piece “Blues For Dolphy.” Great stuff here!