By Slim Man
Have you ever made a joke and nobody laughed?
I have. But only once! I am normally incredibly funny—most of the time unintentionally. But I’ve launched a few bombs here and there. It happens.
About two years ago, I was introducing a young sax player at a Palm Springs jazz jam put on by Patte Purcell—who usually writes this column. This teenager was going to sit in with me and my band, and I introduced him as “The kid who everybody loves to hate.”
It sounds horrible, right? What I meant was…a lot of veterans get jealous when a kid with talent starts rising through the ranks, no matter if it’s sports or music or business. That’s what I meant.
It didn’t come out that way. The crowd looked at me like I’d just grown another head.
The kid that sat in with me that day was Chase Huna. He was 15 at the time, and I was admittedly skeptical that any kid could play jazz—which is pretty complicated stuff—and play it well.
Chase played well that day. He didn’t blow me away, but I could see he definitely had talent. (I sent him an apology that night for my stupid joke.)
I had a concert a few weeks ago at a place called the Palm House in downtown Palm Springs. The day before the concert, I realized I didn’t have a sax player for the evening. I reached out to Chase. He agreed to sit in. He had just turned seventeen.
I sent him the charts and MP3s of the songs. He only had a day to prepare. Keep in mind, the music isn’t simple. There are lots of complicated chords, difficult arrangements, and it was music that Chase wasn’t familiar with.
He came onstage and killed—with no rehearsal. He did blow me away that evening. He had obviously been improving and practicing in the past 2 years, and it showed. I was impressed. Seriously!
How does a kid get into jazz these days? It’s not a popular style of music. You don’t hear much on the radio these days. So, what gives?
“When I was 2 years-old, I heard a smooth jazz compilation CD, a bunch of different artists. My folks told me I made them play it over and over,” Chase told me on the phone as his dad was driving him home from a gig in Sacramento. We talked for a while.
When Chase was 7, his dad took him to see a friend play sax. Chase was intrigued. He started playing recorder—those plastic flute-type things—and his dad heard some talent.
When Chase was 10, his dad got him a sax. Chase studied privately for 2 ½ years, and he played in the high school jazz band. For his junior year, his folks decided to home-school him so he could go out and jam with other musicians at night.
“Most of my friends are into pop and rap. Jazz doesn’t have the edge that tends to draw in younger people.”
Do they make fun? Does he get bullied?
“Most of the kids aren’t aware of what I’m doing. The ones that are, are cool with it,” shared Chase.
Chase started jamming with local jazz musicians, and people began to take notice. Will Donato, a sax player in the Palm Springs area, took him under his wing.
Chase eventually hooked up with guitarist/producer Steve Oliver. Steve is producing a CD for Chase. They have written all the songs together—except the title track, which Steve wrote. The CD is scheduled for release in January, 2017. It’s called On the Chase.
I’m not in love with the title. Why not call it Cut to the Chase? It’s a cool expression, with a nice double entendre in this case.
In last week’s column, I suggested Marc Antoine call his new CD Laguna instead of Twice Upon a Time. Marc just changed the title to Laguna Beach. Will I go two-for-two?
Stay tuned.
Follow Chase Huna on FaceBook, Twitter, and Instagram. He’s going back to school—Palm Desert High—for his senior year.
Slim Man – slim@slimman.com
Get the Slim Man Cooks cookbook at www.slimman.com
