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Joe Bonner 01/02/1999

SHOWID 742192

Set I


Set II


Set III


Comment

Jesse Lee Montijo alto saxophone
Dirk Dickson on bass
Charles Ayash on drums.

Notes:
Recorded from KUVO radio Denver CO.

KUVO’s archive show On Stage, revisits its tribute to Denver-based
pianist Joe Bonner, produced in 2018 for the 70th anniversary of his
birth. (He was born April 20, 1948.)

Force of nature has become almost a clichéd reference to an intense,
artistic personality, but there are few better analogies to pianist Joe
Bonner. He brought a solid groove to any standard he approached, before
unleashing a torrent of notes that never put one-off, but only drew the
listener in. His original compositions were at times lavish, at times
pristine. But he never ever bored his audience.

Because he lived in Denver, and because KUVO offered him the space and
airtime to share his gift, we have several recordings of his live
broadcast performances. In 1999, his quartet included Jesse Lee Montijo
on alto saxophone, Dirk Dickson on bass, and Charles Ayash on drums.
Tongue-in-cheek, he brought The Bonner Party to KUVO in October 2004
(Ayash at the kit, Mark Diamond on bass, and Prasanna Bishop on alto and
baritone saxes). In a session that aired in January 2014, Bonner played
mostly originals with a group he called Joe Bonner & Current Events
(Vince Wiggins on flute, Chris Strain on tenor sax, Dave Weinand on
bass, and Joe DiAmo on drums). We’ve even got a solo piano session with
Bonner from 2004.