Photo by Bill Hughes
9
>e missed one of College
>n’s hidden treasures,
e sound is uncluttered jazz
netimes mellow,
times energy-packed. The
is simple. And the music,
ord, is unpretentious.
2se guys just enjoy playing
isic’s sake. They like what
lo, and so does their
nee.
an Lippman, bass guitarist
^ent for the local band,
bes Notropis’ music as
it-ahead jazz (“the older
, or fusion type with a
r funk twist. He says that
the free style of Notropis’ music
is what makes it work.
“(Notropis) is not structured
like a Top 40 cover band,
where you have to play what’s
on the record, ” Lippman
explains. “We’ll take a lead
sheet (with the chords and the
melody line), play it through
once and then it’s off to left
field.”
Lippman says the band will
play just about anybody’s
music, and usually includes
some of its own compositions in
the show. Notropis’ saxophone
player Don Pope does a jazzy
solo version of “Amazing
Grace” that will send goose
bumps crawling up anybody’s
spine.
Notropis began a few years
back when Lippman and Chris
Amemiya discovered a mutual
interest in jazz and decided to
form the band.
“We had the same interests
— doing jazz standards and
things like that — and
everything seemed to click, ”
Lippman says.
Amemiya adds, “We just got
together. We just wanted to
play little. That’s how it
happened.”
Amemiya, who is working
towards a Ph.D. in genetics,
plays trombone, valve
trombone, fluegelhom and
various percussion instruments,
and serves as the band’s
fearless leader during
performances. Senior Jef Fite
plays drums and Joe Warner
works at the keyboards.
Saxophonist Pope, a graduate
of Houston High School for the
Performing Arts, played on the
professional circuit for several
years.
Regardless of their respective