Pete Fountain tribute concerts
When: 7 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 15; 2 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 16.
Where: Olympic Theatre Arts, 414 N. Sequim Ave.
Featuring: Craig Buhler, Chris Lee, Al Harris, Ted Enderle, Angie Tabor
Tickets: $20 general, $15 student
More info: 360-683-7326, olympictheatrearts.org
Sequim Gazette staff
Sequim musician Craig Buhler helps lead a tribute to the legendary jazz music of Pete Fountain at Olympic Theatre Arts this month.
OTA hosts a pair of concerts remembering the legendary music of Pete Fountain on the Caldwell Main Stage, 414 N. Sequim Ave., at 7 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 15, and 2 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 16.
Group leader Buhler (clarinet) will have backing him Chris Lee (vibraphone), Al Harris (piano), Ted Enderle (bass) and Angie Tabor (drums).
Reserved seating tickets are $20 each for the general public, $15 for students, and are available online at olympictheatrearts.org, at the theatre box office, or at the door, if available. Olympic Theatre Arts’ box office is open 1-5 p.m. on weekdays; the phone number is 360-683-7326.
Buhler said he fell in love with the New Orleans clarinet of Pete Fountain at age 12.
“Pete’s clarinet has a playful lyricism sometimes missing from ‘new school’ jazz; he’s always inventive, and he always swings,” Buhler said.
“He’s got that rich, woody sound which catapulted New Orleans jazz from a local Louisiana curiosity into a world-wide phenomenon. He never struggled to be ‘current’ or ‘hip,’ because his music was timeless. Rediscovering these records several decades later, I am amazed the music still sounds fresh and vital. That’s the spirit we are hoping to bring to OTA.”
Born with a visual disability, Buhler joined Richard Watts’ seventh grade school band — a “team sport” in which he could excel — and vowed to be always prepared to play music with anyone, anywhere, at any time.
“My father took me to hear Pete Fountain in person at the Hollywood Bowl soon after I joined my first teenage band at the age of 14,” Buhler recalled. “To this day, I have no idea how dad managed to finagle backstage passes for us, but I was awestruck when the master walked up and shook my hand.”
Buhler, who has played with The Stardust Dance Band, The Friends of Brubeck, Sarah Shea and his own combo, said he prizes “beautiful tone, energetic humor and melodic freshness” above all other musical qualities.
Born Pierre Dewey LaFontaine Jr., Fountain died in 2016. But, Buhler noted, “His music will live on for generations.”
